Between Love And Hate
by Shateu
Summary: What happens when a gentle-hearted ronin, Ryo, falls madly inlove with a half demon sent to kill him? Will their love save both of them from a common enemy or is it as doomed as it is forbidden? Chapters 4, 5, and 6 UP! Chapter 7 preview now up!
1. The New Warrior Arrives, Friend or Foe?

**Between Love And Hate**

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ronin Warriors; wish I did, but I don't. The only character I own in this story is Lady Twilight/Ivy.

The idea behind this story is 'what would happen if one of the Ronin Warriors fell in love with a female enemy'. In this case, that Ronin is Ryo, and the enemy is my made-up character: Lady Twilight/Ivy.

Legend: "speech" / _thought_ / **sound effect** / (author's notes) / scene change

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Chapter 1: The New Warrior Arrives, Friend or Foe?

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Ryo was laying down on his bed, he gazed up at the ceiling and sighed; once more he'd found himself thinking of the mysterious female warrior who had saved him when he had been injured, quite seriously, during the war with Talpa. His memory was fuzzy since he had been unable to see her face clearly but he remembered her voice; she'd had the voice of an angel. Ryo sighed again; for some reason he just couldn't get that girl out of his mind.

_Why do I keep thinking of her? I don't even know her name...and I'm not sure what she looks like either; man, I must be pathetic._ Ryo rolled over onto his side and sighed heavily. Suddenly he heard the sound of tree branches breaking just outside his window.

"What the-?!" Ryo bolted to his feet and saw someone in a long cloak running away; instantly he jumped from the window and chased after the mysterious figure.

deep in the woods

The mysterious person continued to run and Ryo continued the chase. Finally the person tripped and hit the ground; Ryo quickly pinned the mysterious person to the ground.

"Who are you and why were you spying on me?!" (Ryo)

"Get off of me you foolish Ronin!" (girl)

Ryo instantly grabbed the person's hood and pulled it back. Long onyx-black hair tumbled free and spilled over the 16 year-old girl's shoulders. She glared up at Ryo through dark, sapphire-colored eyes. Ryo was completely stunned; this girl was absolutely beautiful with the face of a tragic angel. But something just wasn't right about her; her eyes were tinged blood red and her pupils were slitted.

"Who are you?" (Ryo)

The girl quickly threw Ryo to the ground and leapt to her feet. Her cloak parted to reveal a glistening silver-white armor (note: armor is almost exactly like Lady Kayura's original armor except for the fact that Lady Twilight wears a sleeveless, high-collared, black bodysuit with silver-white armor pieces like Kayura's over it (her armor is a lot more intricate though). Her weapons include two bladed fighting fans, a twin-edged Kodachi, and an assortment of hidden blades (hidden in her gauntlets/guards and boots).).

"If you beat me I'll answer your questions." (girl)

The girl shot forward and nailed Ryo in the stomach with her right fist; Ryo staggered back slightly but quickly regained his senses and stopped her second attack. He shot a lightning fast punch at her but she easily caught his fist and flipped him over her head. Ryo twisted in midair and landed on his feet in time to reverse the girl's throw and send her to the ground. She flipped onto her feet and smirked.

"You're a better fighter than I'd anticipated, Wildfire. But don't let that go to your head." (girl)

"You're not so bad yourself. But we really don't have to fight." (Ryo)

"That is where you're wrong, Wildfire." At that, the girl launched her next attack, a direct punch to the chest that sent Ryo hurtling straight into a tree. Ryo staggered slightly as he pulled himself back to his feet.

_Something just isn't right about this fight; hell, this girl seems to know my every move, and if that's the case then the chances of me beating her are pretty slim. _Ryo was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that the girl was coming straight at him from the air. Ryo snapped out of his thoughts just in time to catch the girl's foot and reverse the attack enough to throw her back. Instantly the girl twisted in mid-air and landed on her feet.

"Does everyone have to go through this much trouble to get your name or is it just me?" (Ryo)

"You think this is hard, Wildfire? You haven't seen anything yet." The girl said with a smirk as she wheeled around and punched Ryo in the jaw. Ryo barely dodged her punch and narrowly managed to nail her in the jaw with a punch of his own. The girl spun around and landed a direct kick to Ryo's left side. They both skidded backwards from the sheer force of their relentless attacks.

_This girl's good, really good._ Ryo's hand clasped to his left side; he was certain he had a bruised rib thanks to the sheer force of the girl's attack. Ryo looked up at his opponent; hoping blindly that she was injured as bad as he was so that he might have a slightly better chance of beating her, but the girl seemed to show virtually no signs of injury other then a few minor bruises and the blood that streaked from her lip. She casually wiped the blood away with the back of her hand. A smirk crossed her rose-colored lips as she shot forward at an inhuman speed and delivered a kick to Ryo's head; Ryo blocked it and instantly threw the girl to the ground. The girl stood up after a couple of seconds and looked straight into Ryo's tiger blue eyes through her ice-cold sapphire-colored eyes.

"You're a lot stronger than I gave you credit for, Wildfire. You beat me without using your armor. I must say that I am quite impressed." (girl)

"Now tell me who you are." (Ryo)

The girl smirked and stood up; her wounds instantly healed up. Ryo jumped back slightly; just who the hell, or what the hell, was he fighting?!

_I beat her; yeah right, I bet she just let me win, but if that's the case why would she let me win? I mean; oh crap, I'm seriously confused...argh...now I know what Anubis and Daius meant when they said that women are a very confusing breed..._ Ryo stared at the girl as she casually brushed the dust from her armor covered shoulders and arms. Ryo'd probably never admit it to himself, right then and there, but to him she was the most beautiful being he'd ever seen in his life. The girl looked at him again; her face was completely devoid of emotion.

"The name's Ivy; and you should remember me, or atleast my voice considering how many times I saved you when you were injured by Talpa's army." (Ivy)

Ryo's eyes went wide; he realized just who this girl was. Ivy tossed her head and produced a beautiful, pale blue rose in her right hand. Her gaze turned hard and cold when she looked up and noticed the smile that was forming on Ryo's face.

"Don't get happy. I'm here to warn you that my master wants me to kill you." (Ivy)

At that, Ivy walked away and vanished. Ryo stood in silence for about ten minutes then he started back towards the house, the whole time he thought about the mysterious Ivy…the girl who had saved him so many times and had just told him that she was ordered to kill him.

Mia's house, living room

Sage, Cye, Kento, Rowen, Kale, Daius, and Secmet were all gathered in the living room. Anubis, very wisely, was in the study trying to get some peace and quiet. Mia was in the library, doing research on who-knows-what. White Blaze was curled up on the stairs, asleep. At that moment, Ryo walked in. The guys each jumped to their feet.

"Ryo! We thought you were in your room." (Rowen)

"Why do you look like you were in a fight...and without us?!" (Kento)

"Ryo, explanation; please?" (Cye)

"Ryo, Earth to Ryo, anyone home?" Sage said as he snapped his fingers in Ryo's face; Ryo, however, was too deep in his thoughts to even notice. Kale and Secmet, like normal, were too engulfed in their Dino Crisis 2: Dino Duel game to even notice what was going on around them (fighting with dinosaurs; funny). Daius on the other hand just nodded and went back to his book; he had a suspicion as to what was going on in Ryo's head at that moment, even if no one else did. Ryo walked upstairs to his room. Sage, Rowen, Cye, and Kento looked at eachother in confusion; were they the only ones who noticed that Ryo was acting like a zombie? Daius chuckled some, which caused them to look at him.

"I'd give up if I were you. He's not going to answer any questions; the poor fool appears to be in love." (Daius)

"Say wha?!" (Sage, Cye, Kento, Rowen)

"That's what I said. The look on his face is a dead give away. I should know; I, myself, have walked down that path a few times." (Daius)

Sage, Cye, Kento, and Rowen exchanged extremely confused looks then turned back to Daius. Daius sighed heavily and put his book on the coffee table.

"Honestly; haven't any of you four ever been in love before?" Daius sighed again as the four Ronins shook their heads. Secmet and Kale finally looked up from their game.

"So, what were all ya'll talkin' 'bout?" (Secmet, Kale)

Daius sighed and unplugged the TV, causing Kale and Secmet to give him two of the most serious 'Death Glares' anyone could ever give or receive. Mia walked out of the library and looked at the clock before looking at her 'boys' as she loved to refer to them as.

"All right everyone. 11 o'clock. Bed." (Mia)

Sage, Cye, Kento, Rowen, Daius, Secmet, and Kale exchanged annoyed looks but eventually they all headed upstairs to their respective rooms; the only reason they even listened to Mia was because Mia owned the house they were all staying in. Mia then stalked off to the study to force Anubis to stop whatever he was doing and go to bed; there were days, and nights, where he was more stubborn then all the Ronins and Ex-Warlords combined; this was one of those nights…if the yelling and swearing, mainly Anubis on that one, was any indication.

Ryo's room

Ryo sat down next to his window. His mind was racing as he thought about the mysterious, demonic girl named Ivy who had aroused his curiosity. There was something about Ivy that made Ryo want to find out everything he possibly could about her; and something about her incredible beauty that seemed to ensnare his heart. Ryo rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and sighed heavily. He'd never been this confused before; what was it that was drawing him to her; what was it about her that seemed to ensnare his mind, body, and soul?

_Nothing's making sense to me now. She's my enemy but she's protected me quite a few times aswell as help me, but she's still my enemy and she said that she has to kill me, but she doesn't seem to want to; this is so confusing._ Ryo finally just gave up; it was already late and everyone else had already gone to bed, he figured things would probably make more sense to him in the morning, even though it was highly unlikely. Ryo sighed heavily as he changed his clothes and lay down in his bed. Ryo rolled over and tried to get to sleep; but, like many times before, sleep didn't come easy for him.

A mysterious cloaked figure appeared at Ryo's bedside two hours later; she quietly pulled the blankets up over Ryo's sleeping form and shook her head.

_Foolish boy; why is it that you continue to think of me? Why is it you look so handsome and innocent that you make it impossible for me to truly hurt you?_ She reached down and stroked Ryo's hair lightly, so she wouldn't wake him. Her deep sapphire-colored eyes fixed on Ryo's kind face.

_Why is it you wear an innocent expression on your face that many a warrior can no longer where? _A warm half-smile formed on her cold face as she knelt down next to him and placed her cool hand on his cheek.

_Tell me why Wildfire; I see; you won't yield your secrets to me, but I can tell that you want to know me. _She looked at Ryo carefully and lightly threaded her fingers through his black hair. She leaned closer to Ryo; her ice-cold eyes were warm as she gazed at his gentle face. Ryo looked so peaceful as he slept, that the ice that surrounded the girl's heart began to, very slowly, melt away. The girl calmly produced a pale blue rose in her right hand and placed it on the nightstand next to Ryo's bed.

_Maybe there's a way we can help eachother Wildfire._ At that, the mysterious girl (Ivy) disappeared out the window. Ryo woke up a few moments after Ivy had left. The window was open and the cool wind made its way into the room. Ryo sat up on the edge of his bed; his fingers ran along the surface of his nightstand until they came to rest on the stem of a pale blue rose. Ryo stared at the blue rose as it shined in the dark room. Ryo got up and walked over to the window. The rose shined even more in the pale silver light of the moon that hung in the sky that night. Ryo could feel his heart racing as he lifted the rose into the light. He knew that Ivy had been there, he remembered that the blue rose she had held in her hand before was exactly like the one he now held in his hand. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer inside his chest. He just had to meet her again, he just had to. Something about her was drawing him to her; but could they find love? Ivy was his enemy; she had been given orders to kill him but she hadn't even tried.

_Could it be that she's in love with me; the only problem with that is that she's my enemy and I'm supposed to hate her, yet I love her. What a mess I'm in now; I'm in love with my enemy._ Ryo's face now bore a look of complete distress. His head was swimming; he was caught between love...and hate.

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Shateu: I have finally, FINALLY got this right! Sorry for having to re-upload this, again. People...please R&R.


	2. Many Mysteries, Few Answers

**Between Love And Hate**

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ronin Warriors; wish I did, but I don't. The only characters I own in this story are Lady Twilight/Ivy and anyone else who isn't originally from the RW-universe.

Legend: "speech" / _thought_ / **sound effect** / (author's notes) / scene change

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Chapter 2: Many Mysteries, Few Answers

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Ivy leaned back on the oversized throne of onyx and silver and sighed heavily. Her silvery armor glistened in the dim lighting; a look of complete emotionlessness on her fine face. One dark, sapphire eye opened when she heard the heavy door opening, obviously her guards doing the work. A lavender-haired girl, possibly no older than fifteen, garbed in a simple orchid-colored kimono, decorated with pink and silver cherry blossoms, walked into the room.

"What do you want Martika? You know that I hate to be disturbed while I'm meditating." (Ivy)

"I know Lady Twilight...it's just...I was curious about some of your recent actions." (Martika)

Ivy's cold eyes narrowed as she looked directly at Martika. Martika gulped and took a step back; she suddenly had the feeling that coming into her master's quarters and questioning the slightly older girl's actions was a possibly tragic mistake. Ivy sighed heavily and leaned back; she hated it when anyone under her command was afraid of her; she wasn't as cruel as the other generals were.

"What actions are you referring to Martika?" Ivy's voice sounded so bored at this point that Martika was unsure whether or not she should continue. However, after noting that she already held the quick-tempered half-demon's attention, she decided to just go ahead.

"I was curious as to why you've helped those Ronin Warriors so much and as to why you have failed to kill the Ronin of Wildfire." (Martika)

Ivy sighed again as she looked up at the huge ceiling overhead; it was so obvious that her palace had been build for a different demon rather than herself. A million thoughts were racing through her mind at that point; why exactly had she helped the Ronins and spared Ryo's life when she could have so easily defeated him? Come to think of it, why the hell was she even feeling the way she was...and about a human no less?

_Simple...you're half-human and your human side outweighs your demon side in matters of the heart. _Ivy sighed again. Martika looked at Ivy, curiosity in her cobalt-colored eyes. It wasn't that she wanted to see anyone die; Martika was after all: a human and one that hated violence; her issue was with her master's happiness, or lack of.

"I honestly don't know the answer; I've always been chaotic; maybe I just like messing with everyone's heads, maybe I just like watching the whole story to see how it progresses, or maybe I think that those Ronins could prove useful to me in the end." (Ivy)

Martika nodded quietly, agreeing completely with the reasons that her master had just given her. It was true that the beautiful half-demon was chaotic and she did like to mess with people's heads. However, Martika knew all too well that the true reason was something Ivy wouldn't say; the dark hybrid always kept her true intentions well hidden.

_I hope you know what you're doing Lady Twilight; you're playing a very dangerous game. _Martika thought as she turned and walked out of the room, shutting the huge doors behind her. Ivy meanwhile leaned back on her throne and tossed her thick black braid over the armrest; her eyes once more drifting shut as she tried to decipher her reasons for everything she did.

Mia's house, kitchen

Cye stood over the stove; ever since the ex-warlords and Kayura had moved in with them, he'd had to cook way more food than he was used to making. Daius was already downstairs with a cup of black coffee and the morning paper; unlike everyone else, he actually tried to keep up with what was going on in the world. Anubis trotted down the stairs with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Kento, Kale, and Secmet barreled in behind him and knocked Anubis to the floor. Anubis growled angrily as he stood up and brushed his clothes off. Daius just shook his head and went back to his coffee and newspaper. Secmet, Kale, and Kento jumped into their seats and immediately started shoveling food onto their plates. Cye gave all three of them an annoyed look, which instantly stopped them; they'd learned a LONG while back that ticking Cye off was not a good idea unless they wanted to eat take-out for a month. Kayura and Mia walked down the stairs, both chatting about their weekly trip to the mall. Sage, as usual, walked in from outside with his usual attitude. He always got up early for meditating and would come in just near the last second. Cye sighed as he watched everyone take their seats and then he finished setting out the last of the food.

"Wait a second, Torrent; Wildfire and Strata aren't here yet." (Daius)

Kento, Kale, and Secmet groaned. Everyone could understand Rowen being late to breakfast, he always overslept and it wouldn't have done any good to buy him an alarm clock…considering the fact he'd destroyed his last seven because they'd woken him up too early; but Ryo was never late. If Sage, Cye, or Daius weren't the first ones up, Ryo was. Two minutes later, Rowen staggered down the steps, yawning and scratching at his head. He took his seat and within a few seconds would've done a nose-dive into his breakfast if Sage hadn't caught him by the back of his shirt. Cye shook his head and walked over to the stairway.

"RYO!! GET DOWN HERE FOR BREAKFAST BEFORE KALE, SECMET, AND KENTO EAT IT ALL!!" (Cye)

"ALRIGHT!! BE DOWN IN A MINUTE!!" Ryo yelled back from his room. He carefully placed the blue rose back on his nightstand and started out the door. A million thoughts were racing through his mind, one concerning his need to lock his window at night and another concerning and certain incredibly beautiful onyx-haired fallen angel. Ryo was so caught up in his thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to the stairs.

"WHOA!!" Ryo shouted as he slipped and nearly tumbled down the steps. Everyone in the kitchen just stared at him. Kento, Secmet, and Kale started laughing before they were silenced by Daius hitting them in the head with the rolled up newspaper.

"Are you alright Ryo?" (Cye)

"Yeah; I'm fine..." _Embarrassed, definitely. _Ryo sighed as he took his seat. To be honest he wasn't very hungry, he had way too much on his mind to be hungry.

"Okay Ryo...who is she?" (Sage)

"Who's who??" (Ryo)

"Whoever stole your brain and made you act completely pathetic this morning." (Secmet)

"I'm just tired!" _And I have way too much on my mind..._ (Ryo)

"Uh huh; tell us who she is, Wildfire." (Kayura)

"All of you mind your own damned business!" Ryo shouted as he stood up and stormed outside leaving the others in a state of total shock.

"Whoa; someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning…" Mia muttered. Anubis nodded silently as Kento, Secmet, and Kale started digging into their breakfast. Cye sighed heavily and sat down. Rowen groaned and started eating. Daius sighed heavily; whatever was going through Ryo's head at this point was serious if he snapped at his friends just for asking about it.

outside, by the lake

Ryo sighed heavily as he walked out onto the dock. The icy morning air whipped around him as the lake water rippled. Ryo sighed heavily and sat down near the edge, quickly zipping his leather motocross jacket closed in attempt to block the cold air. The light of the morning sun ignited the water and made it sparkle. Normally Ryo would have been able to take a time-out on appreciate the scene, but today wasn't normal; far from it actually; that girl, Ivy, was still on his mind.

_Maybe I shouldn't have snapped at them like that...they were only trying to help...but they can't help me with this... _Ryo sighed heavily as he looked out over the lake. The reflection of the girl, who was the center of his every thought now, gazed back at him from the water's crystal surface.

_Why is it I'm thinking of her so much; even now I see her...I know she's one of the bad guys, hell...she told me that she has orders to kill me, but I really doubt she wants to. _Ryo sighed again and picked up a small stone.

_If I told the guys what would they say..._ A sad smile formed on Ryo's face as he hurled the stone into the water causing the reflected images to break.

_They'd probably laugh at me and call me pathetic...not like I haven't heard it before... _Ryo stood up and walked off the dock.

_I can just hear the insults now: 'heartsick fool', 'idiot', 'moron'; and Sage'll be loudest of all with 'you can't love someone who's supposed to kill you, stupid'. _Ryo chuckled at that. If the guys ever found out he was in love, and with a demon who was also an enemy, they'd tease him mercilessly and might even think he was completely nuts.

"Oh well...not like I'm NOT used to it..." Ryo muttered as he started back towards the house. He sighed heavily as the idea of trying to explain his earlier 'freak-out' made its way into his thoughts.

_I could always plead temporary insanity, even though Secmet and Kale use that excuse more times than Rowen uses his 'random-excuse-for-why-I-was-late-not-including-oversleeping' excuse._ Ryo shook his as he walked, struggling to come up with an excuse that wouldn't lead to later teasing on certain people's parts. As Ryo walked away he didn't even notice the snowy-haired woman sitting up in the tree.

_So...that's the Ronin of Wildfire that Lady Twilight wants to protect; must be because of her human blood; almost all half demons are almost always considerate of humans; sometimes it's just disgraceful._ The snowy-haired demon woman sighed as she stood up, her midnight black armor glinted in the light of the rising sun. (note: Lady Sadoti is physically 19 with white hair and blue-grey eyes that lack a pupil and an iris. Her armor is very similar to Lady Kayura's but with a black bodysuit and black armor pieces that are detailed in silver. She wears a black strip of cloth over her eyes and carries around a bo staff, made from demon bones, as her weapon.) With a heavy sigh the woman vanished in a swirl of darkness

_I hope the girl knows what she's doing; that bastard isn't someone to be toyed with._

Shateu: Well, that was the remix of chappie number two. Please R&R.


	3. Rise Of The Seven Stars Wind And Thunder

**Between Love And Hate**

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ronin Warriors; wish I did, but I don't. The only characters I own in this story are Lady Twilight/Ivy (the half demon), and anyone else who isn't originally from the RW-universe.

Note: Some of the films mentioned are ORIGINAL Asian cinema; feel free to check them out.

Legend: "speech" / _thought_ / **sound effect** / (author's notes) / scene change / _**flashback**_

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Chapter 3: Rise Of The Seven Stars; Wind And Thunder

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**hurried footsteps**

Martika hurriedly walked down the long corridor to the foreboding steel doors at the end of the hallway; she feared the beings behind those doors more than she feared her own master, but she had been given an order and would obey it despite her fear. She touched the heavy doors and trembled as her mind replayed the earlier event that had lead to her current situation.

_**flashback begins**_

Ivy was standing on the stone balcony that overlooked the dark garden that surrounded her palace; her eyes focused on the blood red sky and glowing full moon. She had such a calculating and cold gaze that the young girl feared any attempt at getting her master's attention. Ivy turned sharply to lock eyes with Martika and spoke calmly, almost too calmly.

"Dispatch the Seven Stars to deal with the Ronins and former Warlords." (Ivy)

"Th-the S-Seven Stars?! My lady, I must express my concern; the Seven Stars are-" The orders made no sense; even less when Martika considered the fact that her master, atleast in her opinion, had a 'thing' for the Ronin of Wildfire.

"Don't question me; tell them to test their new targets but not to kill them, not yet; those nine may be useful to me if my suspicions are confirmed." With that, Ivy turned back to gaze at the wicked sky.

"A-as you c-command, my lady." Martika stuttered out before bowing and leaving the chamber; Ivy had said to 'test' rather than 'kill' so perhaps there was something to Martika's suspicions about her master's motives.

_**flashback ends**_

Martika trembled as she opened the heavy door and stepped just inside; seven sets of dark, inhuman eyes looked at her, the owners hidden by the shadows of the room. Martika gulped and bowed her head; she feared these seven far more than she feared her master.

"I come bearing Lady Twilight's new orders for you…" (Martika)

Mia's house, living room

The Ronins and Ex-Warlords were gathered in the living room, arguing over what movie to watch since the girls were out of the house; when you weren't fighting almost 24/7, you had a LOT of free time on your hands. White Blaze had, wisely, taken refuge in the kitchen; he knew better than to be present when the dominate gender of the house was debating on what testosterone-overdrive-fueled, horror-thriller, or whatever-else kind of flick they were gonna watch before Mia and Kayura got back and forced them to watch some sappy romance or over-dramatic chick flick.

"We're watching **Akira**! It's a great, action-packed anime!!" (Kento)

"Like hell, Hardrock; we're watching **Ichi the Killer**!! That's a good movie!" (Kale)

"Can we ever just agree to disagree?" (Cye)

"Why don't we just watch **History of the World Part One**?! That movie is funny as hell!" (Ryo)

"Hell no!! I say we watch **Iron Monkey** if anything!" (Secmet)

"Not on your life!! That movie was stupid!!" (Kento)

"It's not stupid!! It's funny; especially the dubbed version!!" (Secmet)

"I say we should watch **Shutter**; it's a decent Thai horror film." (Sage)

"I am NOT watching that again!! That movie freaked me out more than **The Grudge**!!" (Ryo)

"You got freaked out by those two movies, Wildfire?" (Kale)

"Shut up, Kale!!" (Ryo)

"I say we watch **Hostel** or one of the **Saw** movies; they're always…amusing." (Daius)

"Fuck no!! Never again!!" (Ryo, Kento, Anubis, Secmet)

"You have a twisted sense of humor, Daius." (Sage)

"What 'bout watching **Howl's Moving Castle**?" (Rowen)

"We are not watching an anime when we have REAL movies!!" (Kale)

"Anime are REAL movies!!" (Kento)

This argument would continue for another twenty minutes; not because they'd all come to a 'peaceful agreement', but because that would be how long it took before Kale and Kento would break into their normal knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred, anything-goes-but-armor streetfight in the living room. Once the fight ended, the guys finally settled on a movie; but with just under forty-five minutes until the girls returned, they all agreed on watching episode one of the CG anime, **Kaze: Ghost Warrior**.

Once **Kaze: Ghost Warrior** was over and the girls had returned, the group made their way to the kitchen; stopping in the doorway when they saw the shattered window and missing White Blaze.

"Blaze?!" (Ryo)

"Look over here." Sage said as he walked over to the wall where some hastily written words were cut into the plaster and drywall.

" 'The tiger's my toy; if you want it back, come play with me!' " Cye read aloud; he looked back at Ryo in concern as Ryo started to twitch, his eyes blazing in anger. Even though the other Ronins, Ex-Warlords, Kayura, and Mia were like family to him, White Blaze WAS family. Ryo bolted out the back door; the rest of the guys racing after him and leaving the girls to watch over 'home base'.

deep in the woods

Ryo stopped at a clearing long enough for everyone to catch up; they looked across the clearing and saw White Blaze chained down by chains that looked like they were made of ice. White Blaze struggled when he spotted Ryo, but laid back down as ice spread from the chains to cover his joints and bind him further to the ground. Ryo made a move to run to White Blaze but was thrown back, into Kale and Kento, by a midnight blue barrier.

"What the hell is this?!" (Ryo)

**echoing, child-like, girl-ish laughter**

They heard insane giggling from overhead and saw a young girl, possibly no older than thirteen, drop down into the center of the barrier; she giggled hysterically and swung her 'Ouroburous' ring blade (think the Soul Edge version of Tira's ring blade if you've played Soul Calibur III) through the air before bringing it to rest over her left shoulder. She reached up to rake her clawed, deeply tanned fingers through her short, spiky golden hair. She grinned insanely; her pale, inhumanly golden eyes gleamed like the eyes of a predator that'd just found the perfect prey. The way she was dressed was odd to say the least; at least by human standards.

She wore a bright yellow zip-up, sleeveless, cropped vest with gold silk at the hems and zipper closure paired with a pair of dark gray mid-calf-length pants that had ornate golden-yellow tribal designs at the lower legs; she had a bright red silk sash wrapped around her waist with the excess falling down to her knees and a pair of black, leather sandals, that resembled those worn by ancient Roman gladiators (atleast movie versions). Her hands were clad in fingerless, black, leather, mid-forearm-length gloves with a ten gold and silver bangles on each wrist. A black, leather collar was around her neck; an ornate, tribal-style, steel pendant held in the center. The symbol on her pendant differed greatly from the black and red tribal-style tattoo on her upper left arm.

"Silly Pyro-boy; you can't play yet; it's not your color!" She said as she giggled again and dropped the blade from her shoulder to point at Rowen with it.

"The blue one is another story!! We get to play and if he agrees, I'll return the big, bad kitty." She grinned and the group looked at eachother; this kid couldn't be human, there was just no way in hell.

"Well?! Are we gonna play?" She said as she went into another giggle fit.

"I'd like ta know who I'd be fightin'." (Rowen)

"Fighting? We're just gonna play!" She said with a grin; suddenly the grin vanished and her eyes turned dark and far more insane. Her very posture had turned into that of a soulless killer; when she spoke again, her voice was harsh and cold.

"But if you want a name; they call me Leiko of the Wind." (Leiko)

Daius looked out of the corner of his eye and could swear that he saw Kale stiffen when the girl, Leiko, had stated her name and title; then again, the name sounded familiar to him but he was unable to place it. Leiko glared at Rowen before lunging through the barrier at him and catching him off-guard with a sharp kick to the gut. Rowen stumbled back as Leiko flipped backwards into the barrier, her eyes back to the eyes of an insane child.

"Looks like I no longer have a choice; I'm not comfortable fightin' a kid though." (Rowen)

"Trust me; that 'kid' is a cold-blooded killer." (Kale)

"What do you mean?" (Ryo)

"Just watch your back, Strata, or you'll find a hidden blade in it." Kale said darkly. Rowen reluctantly stepped through the barrier, donning his armor in the process. Leiko looked at him and grinned psychotically.

"Yay; we get to play!! I hope you don't break like my last toy did!" Leiko said with a grin as she swung the ring blade on her forearm like some kind of freaky hula-hoop of doom.

She lunged at him at inhuman speed, swinging her ring blade upward and nearly catching Rowen in the chest if he hadn't jumped out of the way. He drew his bow and notched and arrow, firing at her; Leiko rolled out of the way, spinning her ring blade around her forearm before throwing it at Rowen. He dodged to the side, looking back just in time to see the blade reverse and come back at him, catching him dead-center in the back. The blade ricocheted off of Rowen's back and back into Leiko's hands; her eyes turned hard and her voice dropped to a sinister whisper.

"Does it hurt, really? Tell me it hurts; I'm dying to know." (Leiko)

Rowen growled lowly and got back to his feet; he glanced at his shoulder where the blade had passed in its ricochet and saw a deep gash in the armor. Cye gasped when he saw a deep gash in Rowen's back, just below the quiver. The other guys just stared.

"I…I didn't know the armor could break that easy." (Secmet)

"Anything breaks when it's hit by a demon-forged weapon." Kale muttered darkly, earning a look from Daius. Daius kept silent; how did Kale know about 'demon-forged' weapons and what they were capable of?

Leiko's insane grin returned and she lunged at Rowen, running circles around him. Rowen tried to figure out what she was doing; he realized the whirlwind all-too-late when he felt the wind whipping around him and saw the dirt rising around him. Rowen was swept up into the wind tunnel; rocks and various debris smashing against his armor as the wind tunnel's speed increased. Leiko flew up into the center of the tunnel and spun rapidly; her aura sparking up and coming off her in a series of 'blades' that sliced into the armor.

"ROWEN!!" (Ryo, Sage, Cye, Kento)

Rowen crashed into the ground; he hit with enough force that his body bounced twice before slamming into a tree and laying motionless. Rowen winced, struggling to force his body to move and struggling more to get precious air back into his lungs. Leiko dropped down onto Rowen's chest and crouched there; she pouted sadly.

"Is that it; is that all; do you have nothing left?!" Leiko tapped Rowen's forehead with one claw tip before frowning like a spoiled child who'd just been told 'no'.

"Aww…you broke; guess I'm done with you." Just as she brought the blade to Rowen's throat, she stopped. Her gaze shifted upward and she pouted before getting off of Rowen and running away. The barrier shattered like glass and the Ronins and Ex-Warlords raced to Rowen's side. Cye helped him sit and Rowen gasped for air; White Blaze stumbled over, the ice chains having disappeared with the barrier, and licked weakly at Ryo's hand.

Mia's house, Rowen's room

Rowen was laying in his bed, carefully bandaged up and drifting in and out of consciousness; his breathing had gotten easier to everyone's relief. Sage carefully examined the last few injuries before packing up the first-aid kit. Kento had a pissed off look on his face that mirrored to outward and inward feelings shared by the whole group.

"What the fuck was that?!" (Kento)

"A demon." Kale said simply, his gaze focused on some distant shadow. The whole group, minus Rowen, looked at him sharply. Cye was the only one who was able to speak without sounding too accusing.

"So we figured; do you know anything about her?" (Cye)

"Yeah; Leiko of the Wind…she's a member of the Seven Stars." Kale said lowly; earning very confused looks from everyone but Daius. Daius growled at Kale; his eye reflecting pure anger.

"And you neglected to mention this earlier, why?!" (Daius)

"I was hoping I was wrong." (Kale)

"Who are the 'Seven Stars'?" (Kayura)

"They're seven demonesses and the elite guards of the demon general; Lady Twilight." (Kale)

The group looked to Kale for further explanation and he reluctantly sighed; Daius just glared at Kale, he knew about the Seven Stars and how they were known for being vicious but, at the same time, noble and honorable warriors. He had also heard about Lady Twilight and that knowledge, of her reputation, worked his nerves more than anything else at the moment.

"The Seven Stars are, like I said, seven female demons and the elite guards of Lady Twilight. They each represent a different element; Leiko is obviously the wind. After her are Nozomi of the Thunder, Unmei of the Sea, Midoriko of the Wood, Amaya of the Spirit, Mika of the Frost, and the group's leader, Kyoko of the Flame." (Kale)

"So why are these demons after us; aside from the obvious?" (Sage)

"I don't know; but if I had to guess, they're testing us all one by one." Kale said with a shrug. Sage rubbed the bridge of his nose; trying to kill the coming headache.

"So, what do we do; just wait for them to pick us all off?" Sage said with a growl. Everyone looked at eachother and gave a silent nod; another war, atleast this wouldn't be boring.

Mia's house, kitchen

It had been just under a week since Rowen's defeat, and literal beating, at the hands of Leiko of the Wind and things were quiet, for now. Ryo was sitting in the kitchen, alone, just eating a bag of Oreos; his mind shifted away from the matters of upcoming battles against demons and back to his matter of the heart. He'd never thought he'd have to ask Kale or Daius anything, but they seemed like the best bet to talk to about who 'Ivy' really was, since she didn't seem to be human; Secmet and Anubis were also likely candidates but Anubis was known for being VERY short-tempered and Secmet was just plain crazy. He twisted another Oreo apart, licked the filling out, put it back together, and dunked it into the glass of milk until it was sufficiently soggy before popping it into his mouth.

_Why am I thinking about Ivy when I should be worried about Rowen still recovering AND the fact that we're duking it out with some seriously powerful female demons? Do my friends and the world mean so little to me that my concern is for myself and a girl I don't even know?_ Ryo growled to himself and shoved another Oreo into his mouth; what could he possibly do about this matter that didn't involve possible physical injury and/or having to talk to any of the former Warlords? Ryo smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand; Daius would probably laugh at him, like he was sure most of the guys would, and Kale was more than likely to blackmail him. Ryo groaned at the last part of that thought; if he'd ever needed any kind of proof about the possibility of blackmail, thanks to a slightly crazy former Warlord of Darkness, Ryo'd only have to remember back when Kale had found out about something that Kento had been keeping secret and that Kento had been forced to be Kale's 'dog' for roughly two months to buy Kale's silence.

"Having a moment, Bipolar Boy?" (Daius)

"Stop calling me 'Bipolar Boy'!!" (Ryo)

woods outside Mia's house

A woman stood at the ready; a large sword resting under her hand and against the ground (think the Glam sword from Soul Calibur III). Her visible silver eye glowed luminescent as the pupil narrowed into a smaller slit, the other hidden by a coppery-black bang. She tossed her head and her short coppery-black hair swished her neck. She nodded as she drew up one clawed hand; electricity sparking from her fingers and encircling her hand. The air cracked around her as she drew her hand back and flung it forward; a crackling ball of raw electricity flying from her hand and slamming into the front walkway.

**loud explosion and electrical crackling**

The Ronins and Ex-Warlords, minus Rowen, bolted from the house; they looked around just as the woman stepped forward enough to reveal herself from the shadows. Kale visibly tensed; earning a look from Daius.

"Do you know her?" (Daius)

"That's Nozomi of the Thunder." (Kale)

Nozomi raised her sword and pointed it at Sage; her gaze empty and hard. She wore a strapless, mid-calf-length dress of pale rose that was slit up to mid-thigh on the right side; the back ornately laced-up by black leather cords. Her arms were clad in bell-sleeved sleeves of the same pale rose shade or her dress; the sleeves were held to her upper arms by thick silver-inlaid steel bands. Around her waist was a sash-belt of steel chainmail that fell to mid-thigh. Her feet were clad in black, leather sandals that were strung up her legs, leather guards covering the backs of her legs (kinda like the stringed boots in the female Character Creation mode in Soul Calibur III). Her voice was perfectly calm as she spoke.

"I challenge you, Sage of Halo." (Nozomi)

"And if I refuse?" (Sage)

"Then you lose your head." (Nozomi)

"Then I accept." Sage said as he stepped forward; the other Ronins and Ex-Warlords all stared at him in shock; did he not remember what one of these 'Seven Stars' had done to Rowen?!

"Are you insane, Sage?! Don't you remember what happened to Rowen?!" (Kento)

"It'll be fine; she's just another demon." (Sage)

"Actually…she's a dragon." Kale said coldly; the Ronins and other Ex-Warlords all shot Kale a look as he kept his gaze locked on the tall woman before them. Sage glared at Kale; not like he could back down now, he'd accepted her challenge. He donned his armor and looked at the dragoness before him. Nozomi swung her sword off the ground and they circled, sizing eachother up. A barrier shot up around them, glowing forest green. Sage glared at the woman.

"Reason for the barrier?" (Sage)

"Only a precaution." Was Nozomi's icy response as she lunged at Sage; their swords locking briefly before Sage managed to shove her back and go for a strike. Nozomi parried the strike with her own sword and slammed her fist into Sage's abdomen, the action causing him to skid backwards. Sage clasped one hand briefly to his stomach before regaining his stance and blocking her next strike.

**blades clashing**

Sage jumped back and swung his sword; the 'blade' of lightning heading right for the dragoness. Nozomi threw her sword aside and extended her hand, absorbing the electricity. She spun in a single move and extended her other hand; the lightning firing from two fingers and slamming into Sage at full force. Nozomi stood in a defensive stance as the redirected electricity washed and sparked over Sage. He dropped to one knee, his armor still sparking and electricity still coursing through his armor and his body; a pained expression on his face. He knew how much power he had sent into his attack and this was the first time he'd felt his power redirected on himself.

"SAGE!! Get up man!" (Kento)

Sage tried to pull himself up but collapsed to the side; his armor still sparking. Nozomi walked over and placed the tip of her sword to his neck. She nicked the flesh then swung her huge blade over her shoulder and walked away; as she left, the barrier shattered like glass, allowing the Ronins to get to Sage's side and get him inside.

Mia's house, Sage's room

Kayura finished treating the few, small electrical burns on Sage's body, the burns were dominantly on his torso, and looked up at the group. Ronin and Ex-Warlord alike were glaring at the ground; they were 0-2 and knew that they had atleast five more of these 'Seven Stars' to deal with. Ryo stormed out of the room and down to the lake; leaving his fellow warriors alone to debate and argue.

outside, by the lake

Ryo threw a small rock across the lake, watching it sink into the water; this was so wrong, these women were going after their weakness by using the old divide-and-conquer method. Ryo growled lowly, a feral fire growing in heart as he grabbed another rock. He felt a vaguely familiar aura behind him and then a knife against his throat. Ryo growled again, his temper rising quickly.

"So, you gonna kill me or what?" Ryo hissed out; the fire growing stronger and stronger. Ivy drew the blade away from his throat and sheathed it at her side. She drew closer and whispered in his ear.

"I can't do that until I see your real strength, Wildfire." (Ivy)

"Help us defeat these 'Seven Stars' and I'll show you what you want to see." (Ryo)

"Silly Ronin; I've already helped." She whispered seductively in his ear; her somewhat-armored body lightly pressing against his back. Ryo visibly stiffened; his eyes widening slightly.

"I ordered them not to kill all of you." Ivy whispered just before she disappeared. Ryo spun around, his eyes wild; the feeling was back again. Ryo gulped as his heart resumed its jackhammer-like pounding; if she'd 'ordered' the Seven Stars to not kill them, then that meant that 'Ivy' was 'Lady Twilight', the demon general. Ryo wiped the back of his hand against his forehead and down his neck; this couldn't end well.

* * *

Shateu: Chapter three is done! This IS a romance but there's a LOT in the way, like a brewing war for instance, and they will have to work for the romance; and for those of you who noticed that Kale seems to know WAY more than he's telling, cookies for you! He's going to have an interesting role that'll be revealed in later chapters!

Kale: (ticked off look) That means I'll have to work!

Shateu: Here's some 180-proof Russian vodka; go to your happy place.

Kale: (stalks off with vodka; mumbling various things under his breath)

Shateu: Okay; R&R, please!


	4. Rise Of The Seven Stars Water And Earth

**

* * *

Between Love And Hate**

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ronin Warriors; wish I did, but I don't. The only characters I own in this story are Lady Twilight/Ivy (the half demon), and anyone else who isn't originally from the RW-universe.

Betaed by my good buddy, Jase. (Yay; I now have a beta!)

Legend: "speech" / _thought_ / **sound effect** / (author's notes) / ~scene change~

* * *

Chapter 4: Rise Of The Seven Stars; Water And Earth

* * *

Ryo was lying on the old dock near the lake; his mind racing at the thoughts of whom among them would be the next victim of the Seven Stars. He was worried because he'd seen what two had done to two of his friends single-handedly and feared for everyone else's life. It didn't take long before his thoughts shifted back to his heart's dilemma; Ivy, the beautiful woman that he was so sure he was in love with, was really 'Lady Twilight' and she had sent the Seven Stars after them. Ryo bit into his lower lip as his thoughts turned bitter; how could he love an enemy like this? He couldn't stop the growl that rose from his chest as his mind replaced all the images of his friends with the images of the demon general.

"Hey Wildfire; Spiderman says to get your bipolar ass back in the house!" (Kale)

"Fuck off, Kale; I'm not bipolar!!" Ryo shouted back at the smirking bluenette in the doorway; he scowled and turned so that he was on his side. Kale scowled and stormed over to Ryo; he quickly grabbed the Ronin of Wildfire around the waist and threw him over his shoulder. Ryo struggled violently; punching at Kale's back in attempt to get free.

"PUT ME DOWN!!" (Ryo)

"And get bitched at by Spiderman again? I think not." (Kale)

"I feel like a piece of damn luggage…" (Ryo)

"Remember that feeling next time you don't want to do what I say, Wildfire." Kale said simply as he walked into the living room and dropped Ryo onto the couch. Ryo scowled at him as the others looked on. Sage and Rowen were both on the other couch, lying down since they were still pretty much out of commission. Cye was sitting in the over-sized chair to the side with Anubis sitting on the arm of the chair just to try to bug the Ronin of Torrent. Secmet was on the floor, mumbling incoherently to himself about something involving 'dynamite' and 'steak'; no one was going to even try to ask. Daius was leaning against the TV, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Kale. Kento was leaning over the back of the couch that Kale had dropped Ryo onto. Mia and Kayura were splitting the loveseat as they waited for Daius to voice why he'd called this meeting. White Blaze looked up from his position on the floor as Daius began to speak.

"Alright; I called this meeting for one simple reason--" (Daius)

"And what does Captain One-Eye have to say?" (Kento)

"Do you want me to kick your ass again, Hardrock?!" (Daius)

**sharp whistle from Anubis**

Everyone looked at Anubis as he glared at them after the 'give-me-attention' whistle. Anubis scowled at all of them as he rested one arm on top of Cye's head; Cye gave a small twitch at the unwanted weight on his head. Kale gave a low, almost feral-sounding, growl as he rubbed his sensitive ears. Anubis rolled his eyes and looked to Daius.

"Get to the point about why you called this little meeting or I'll beat you." (Anubis)

"As I was saying, before Hardrock decided to remind us of his unwanted existence--" (Daius)

"FUCK OFF, DAIUS!!!" (Kento)

"You were the result of a very, VERY drunken night of unprotected sex, Hardrock; deal with it." (Daius)

"YOU--!!!" (Kento)

"HARDROCK, SHUT THE FUCK UP; DAIUS, GET TO THE FUCKING POINT ABOUT THIS MEETING OR I SWEAR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS BACK TO THE NETHERWORLD!!!" Anubis shouted at the top of his lungs, his so-called 'infinite patience' snapping in half and shattering to dust at the overly juvenile behavior. Kento scowled at the Ex-Warlord of Illusion, making a mental note to get revenge for that comment at some point later in the week. As Kento was plotting, Daius was regaining his composure; once done, he began to speak again.

"I called this little meeting because we need to discuss a plan for what to do the next time we meet against the Seven Stars; it is obvious that they are going after us one-at-a-time and I think, for safety reasons, we should all keep atleast one other person, who can fight, with us when we leave the house." (Daius)

"So, safety in numbers?" Rowen muttered softly as he held one arm around his healing ribs; Daius gave a simple nod and looked to see if anyone, mainly Kento, was going to try to argue with him about his idea but everyone seemed to be in agreement that 'safety in numbers' was their best option next to becoming recluses.

"That's good for keeping us alive; but how do we beat them?" Sage said; wincing slightly from the pain of the small electrical burns that littered his torso beneath his shirt. Everyone went quiet; Daius gave a scowl and turned to Kale.

"Well, Kale, you know so much about demons; how do we beat them?" (Daius)

"Not easily; even if we got past the Seven Stars, we'd have to fight Lady Twilight and she's a total badass." (Kale)

"How much of a 'total badass'?" (Mia)

"Um…she kicked Talpa's ass with both hands shackled behind her back…three hundred years ago…within a twenty minute time period; and it's safe to assume that she's only gotten stronger since." Kale said with a way-too-calm look on his face; every set of Ronin eyes leveled on him with a look of pure shock and raw anger. Daius growled lowly at the little reminder of the beautiful demon general's prowess; Anubis's eyes narrowed considerably as he kept a glare focused on the former Warlord of Darkness; Secmet groaned and smacked the back of his head against the side of the armrest of the couch that Sage and Rowen were lying on.

"You have got to kidding…" (Mia)

"Yeah; she can't be that powerful." (Kayura)

"I'm not kidding; you should expect it since she's the daughter of an extremely powerful demon lord." Kale said as he scratched at his scar absentmindedly, a habit he'd had since he was a small child. The Ronins, Mia, and Kayura paled considerably at that; this might be a hell of a lot more difficult than they'd originally thought.

"We're so screwed!!" Secmet shouted out; everyone looked at him in shock (they forgot he was there!) as Secmet let himself rock side-to-side and back-and-forth while he started humming a funeral dirge. Anubis grabbed a book from the coffee table and chucked it at Secmet, missing the half-snake's head by a hair's width due to the other's incessant rocking.

"I need air…" Cye said softly as he got up and walked outside and down to the lake; he rubbed at his temples as he heard the shouting and fighting echoing from the house to the normally peaceful lake.

~outside, by the lake~

Cye sat on the edge of the dock with his feet in the water; he didn't want to fight anymore and it seemed that every time he thought he could enjoy the peace, a new battle started up. He gave a soft groan as his mind started replaying the past pain from old injuries that had come from many previous battles.

_I honestly don't know if I can do this again; I don't want to fight. _Cye thought to himself as the water began to ripple somewhat. He blinked; water in a lake doesn't ripple on it's own. Cye's sixth sense for danger kicked into overdrive just as the ripples changed to a wave that crashed into the dock with the force of a small tidal wave; Cye jumped away from the dock just as the wave hit and felt the water hit against his ankles before it receded into the lake.

"What the--?!" (Cye)

A cloaked and hooded figure stood in the center of the lake; just standing on the water in the deepest part of the lake like some kind of statue. The thick, raven-wing black cloak covered every visible part of the being's body while the hood covered the upper half of the face; a black cloth mask, that seemed to disappear into the hood, covered the lower half. The being stepped forward, the water rippling under each careful step, until they stepped onto the dock. A single, pale hand, clad from the knuckles to the elbow in four layers of meticulously wrapped black fishnet-mesh, reached up to undo the heavy, steel cloak pin; the heavy material dropped in a pile on the dock, the wood groaning at the sudden weight addition.

The being was a girl, probably only fourteen; her jaw-length, blood red hair fell wildly around her face and hid eyes that were as deep and blue as the ocean. Her left forearm was wrapped in the same way as the right, in the same black mesh. Her lithe body was clad in what looked like an asymmetrical, one-sleeved bodysuit of some kind of leather; the material was the deepest black with the sides and underside of the sleeve carefully laced up at the seams by dark blue leather cords. The sleeve covered her right arm; the carefully done lacing of the sleeve was undone from above her elbow to her wrist. Several pieces of fishnet, that had been dyed various shades of blue and green, were meticulously woven into a hip scarf that was wrapped over her hips and tied at her waist; several thin chains of silver were wrapped over the scarf; dozens of small shells, coral charms, bone charms, shark teeth, and silver pendants were hanging from the chains. Her feet were bare save for the four layers of wrapped black fishnet that covered from the arch to the upper shin; the outer legs of her bodysuit, which were laced up like the sleeve, were undone from the above the knees to the ankles. Several thin black cords, of the same leather material, encircled her thin neck; coral charms, shark teeth, and small shells dangled from the cords in intricate ways. She raised her right hand, a small almost scepter-like thing in it; without warning, the scepter-like thing transformed into an intricate, silver-inlaid steel trident.

Cye armored up and watched her carefully; she looked human, save for a few things; her ears were like fins that were pressed to her head, almost like a mermaid in some pictures Kento had made him look at. From what he could tell, it looked like her fingers and toes were slightly webbed; her exposed shoulder showed three marks near her neck that had to be gills. Cye bit his lip as his mind kicked into overdrive; it would be so easy to back down and run away but he knew that he couldn't do that; too many battles had made it impossible for him to ever run away.

~Mia's house, kitchen~

Kale walked over to the window; as soon as he looked out at the lake and saw Cye and the girl fighting, he spit out his vodka, swearing violently.

"FUCKING HELL!!!" (Kale)

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" (Ryo)

"TORRENT'S FIGHTING ONE OF THE SEVEN STARS!!!!" (Kale)

**sounds of running**

~outside, by the lake~

The Ronins and former Warlords, Daius and Ryo carrying the two injured Ronins, stopped at the edge of the lake as Cye barely dodged a strike from the girl's trident and claws. Anubis stepped forward and touched the pale blue barrier that encircled the lake; Cye dodged a roundhouse kick to his ribs only to dodge into an open-fist to the chest.

"Who the hell is that girl?!" (Anubis)

"Unmei of the Sea; a water demon of the highest caliber." (Kale)

"Un-freakin'-believable!!" Kento shouted as he pounded on the barrier, not like that would help. Unmei's dead eyes remained cold as she threw Cye into the water, diving in after him; both disappearing beneath the crystal-like surface of the lake. The Ronins and former Warlords watched anxiously; some silently freaking out in pure concern for the Ronin of Torrent.

~beneath the lake~

Cye's gentle eyes carefully scanned the murky depths of the lake; he narrowly swam out of the way as Unmei charged at him. They looked at eachother; the water having made her hair float away from her eyes. They seemed to size one another up as they floated in the dark, murky water; her gills opened to let her breathe. Cye stayed quiet as he watched her; finally, the silence was broken by Cye (the armor that covers his eyes and mouth lets him talk/breathe underwater as I remember…and if it didn't, it does now).

"Why do we have to fight?" (Cye)

_I must follow my orders._ Unmei said telepathically; her dark eyes remaining empty. Cye just stared at her as his mind processed what she'd said; how could anyone just say 'I must follow my orders' so coldly when they were in a fight against people who'd never done anything to them?

"What purpose does this fighting serve? You strike me as someone who doesn't want to fight like this." (Cye)

_I may not want to fight you or anyone, but it is all I know; and the purpose is something you and the others shall learn in time._ Unmei sent to him as she charged again; their weapons clashing in the water and stirring up the silt and mud at the bottom of the lake. Cye watched her as they fought; what could make someone so physically young know only how to fight and nothing else? They swam apart and Cye took aim with his trident (or is it a spear?) while Unmei took aim with her own trident; both charging their attacks.

~outside, by the lake~

**loud explosion, water shooting into the sky**

The barrier shattered apart as the water settled; the Ronins and Ex-Warlords stood on the edge of the lake, all anxious to seem some sign that Cye had one or, at the very least, alive. A few moments later, Cye's unconscious form washed up on the lakeshore at their feet; Kento and Anubis carefully pulled Cye from the water, Anubis checking for a pulse in the fallen Ronin; he gave a nod to the others to signify that Cye was still alive.

The water parted as Unmei slowly rose from the water; wrapped in her cloak again. She pulled her hood and mask up and disappeared into a mist that had appeared out of nowhere. Kento and Anubis carefully lifted Cye up and everyone disappeared back into the house.

~Demonic Realm, Lady Twilight's throne room, balcony~

Ivy stood on the balcony; the full moon shining bright in the blood red sky above. She raised her eyes when she felt someone behind her. She touched the raven feathers in her hair absentmindedly as the shadow-hidden figure bowed to her.

"What do you want, Kyoko?" (Ivy)

The woman, Kyoko, stepped out of the shadows; her shoulder-blade-length, snow-colored hair flowing freely. Her white fox ears were pricked at attention while her white fox tail twitched slightly; her golden eyes glowing with feral intensity as she rested her left hand on the hilt of her ornate Kodachi blade. She wore a blood red, sleeveless, Chinese dress that fell down to mid-calf-length; several ornate kyubbi designs on her dress. Her long legs were clad in a pair of ink black, flare-legged, low-rise pants; the outer thighs were cut out with a single, large, silver-inlaid steel ring in the center of each cutout. A heavy, silver-inlaid steel collar was latched around her throat and over the collar of her dress; similar silver-inlaid steel bands encircled her upper arms and forearms. Three steel chains encircled her waist, all held together at the side by a heavy, silver-inlaid steel medallion that held the dark red sheath of her blade. Her feet were clad in a pair of black leather sandals, very similar to those worn by an ancient Roman gladiator (atleast movie versions).

"I'm here to see you, my master; permission to be frank?" Kyoko said coolly; her predatory eyes glowing with some hint of almost sadistic amusement. Ivy nodded to the half-fox/half-fire demon warrioress.

"Why exactly have you ordered us to merely test the Ronin Warriors and former Warlords?" (Kyoko)

"Why do you ask for my reasons?" (Ivy)

"Enlightened self-interest." (Kyoko)

"I want to see if they will be useful to me." (Ivy)

"I see; does my master also have her eyes on a certain Ronin of Wildfire?" (Kyoko)

"You're fishing…" (Ivy)

"Again, my master; enlightened self-interest." Kyoko said calmly as Ivy turned back to the sky, trying to drown out the annoying voice her mind that told her that the woman behind her was right.

"Not that I would complain; the boy is a Sanada after all; he would make a suitable mate for you, even more so if he is the one from the prophecy." (Kyoko)

"Plausible on the last part of that; and what makes you assume that I'd take a human as my mate?" (Ivy)

"If he's the one from the prophecy, if he's not only Toushi's descendant but also his heir, the Ronin of Wildfire's not human." Kyoko said with a knowing smirk; Ivy gave the woman a sharp look that made the smirk leave the woman's tanned face.

"I see that I have over-stepped my bounds; forgive me my lady." She said with a bow as she hurriedly departed from the throne room to disappear into the vast corridors of the palace.

~Mia's house, kitchen~

The uninjured Ronins, Ex-Warlords, Mia, and Kayura were gathered in the kitchen a day later; Cye was asleep in his room, trying to recover from the day before; Sage was lying on the couch in the living room, watching **Unbeatable Banzuke** on the TV; Rowen was in the study, trying to read up on something that he wasn't talking about to anyone else. Mia looked up at the others; she was so worried for her boys now that she was positive that she'd never let them out of her sight again if they all survived this.

"And the score is now 0-3 in their favor." Anubis remarked coldly; this new war was genuinely pissing him off since he couldn't keep any control over the situation. Ryo rested his head in his hands as he tried to force his mind to stay on track with the current fighting; as he thought about the combat, he felt his blood boiling so quickly that it made the Ronin of Wildfire feel like his body was literally on fire. He bit his lip; his mind shifted back to the demoness who'd captured his heart and he felt the fire grow hotter and more intense; the last time he'd felt anything like this was when he'd used the White Armor to destroy Talpa for the second time.

"Ground Control to Wildfire; park your bipolar ass back on planet Earth." (Daius)

"Fuck off, Daius." Ryo said harshly; his voice seeming to grow raspy from the fire that was growing out of control in his body. Suddenly he felt cold as Kale dumped a glass of cold water on him; Ryo glared at the borderline-psychotic Ex-Warlord of Darkness.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL WAS THAT SHIT FOR?!?!?!" (Ryo)

"One, don't swear at me like that or I'll kick your sorry ass; two, you needed it." Kale said simply as he picked up his shot glass of vodka and downed it in a single gulp. Daius glared at Kale; was this boozehound ever without some kind of alcohol?

"Hey Kale; how do you know so much about these demons and everything?" (Mia)

"You don't need to know." Kale said quickly, almost like he was hiding something; he grabbed the bottle and glass and bolted out of the room. Kento slammed his fist onto the table in anger.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS SHIT!!" Kento shouted as he grabbed the keys to his truck from the key bowl and stormed out of the house, Ryo ran out after him.

~outside, outside the garage~

"Kento; wait up man!!" (Ryo)

"WHAT?!?!" Kento shouted at Ryo in anger; he couldn't help it, his friends were falling left and right and no one was able to do anything, not even Kayura with her so-called 'infinite spiritual powers'. Ryo stopped infront of Kento.

"I know you're pissed, bro; so am I." (Ryo)

"This just sucks, man; these girls are kicking our asses and nobody can do a fucking thing about it!!" (Kento)

"I know; it's all so familiar, ain't it?" Ryo said bitterly as Kento climbed into his truck; Ryo slowly climbed into the passenger seat as Kento started the truck and both drove away.

~outside, woods below the mountains~

Kento parked the truck and got out, Ryo following; Kento always went to the woods to calm down. They walked into the forest a ways, keeping silent, and sat down under a large cherry blossom tree in a clearing; minutes slid into hours as the sky began to darken into nightfall.

**soft feminine laughter**

Both Ronins jumped to their feet at the sound; they stood back to back as their eyes scanned the darkening clearing for the source of the laughter. Their eyes landed on a woman who was leaning against another cherry blossom tree, a blood red rose in her lightly tanned hand; she flipped back her waist-length river of emerald hair as her glowing eyes of jet leveled on them; her dark purple painted lips pulled into a sly smirk.

"Two little pups away from their pack; too bad, so sad." (woman)

She slowly stepped into the silvery moonlight; she was clad in a fitted, sleeveless and collarless, ankle-length coat of the richest forest green-colored velvet. The velvet coat covered the tightly fitted, backless, sleeveless, halter-necked, black leather bodysuit that she wore; her ample cleavage was perfectly shown by the deep V-neck at the front of her bodysuit. Ornate, dark purple, rose-patterned lace covered the torso of the leather bodysuit, creating the effect of a bodice; the dark green and purple beads, which had been woven into the lace, shimmered softly in the silver light of the moon. Her feet were clad in black leather, high-heeled, stiletto boots that covered up to her knees; four thin, silver chains glittered from around the ankles of her boots. Her forearms were meticulously wrapped in dark green and dark purple silk from the elbow to her knuckles with the excess hanging from the wrist; her claw-like nails gleamed dark purple from the nail polish that covered them. A series a thin silver chains looped her slim waist, ornate silver beads gleaming from the chains; a second set of chains encircled her throat.

"Who are you?!" Kento shouted angrily at the woman; both Ronins slipping into fighting stance as she drew the rose to her lips and kissed the blood-colored petals. She smirked seductively and threw the rose between them; a barrier of orange shooting up, separating Ryo and Kento.

"They call me Midoriko of the Wood, dear little pups." The woman said with a laugh as she drew the short 'sword' up and pointed the thorned, emerald green 'blade' at Kento; the pommel looked like a beautiful, blood red rose.

"And you should feel lucky to have the pleasure of falling to the might of this beautiful, rose blade." (Midoriko)

"Sorry, babe; I don't intend on 'falling' today." Kento said as he armored up; he didn't care about who he was going to fight; all he wanted to do was fight to work out the frustration that had been building in him for the last couple of weeks since this crap had started. Ryo pounded on the barrier; he didn't want to watch someone else fall; he knew that he couldn't bear it if he had to carry Kento back and explain that he wasn't able to save another friend.

"My, my; you have courage; I'll enjoy breaking you." Midoriko said with a laugh as she charged at Kento with her 'sword'; Kento dodged and charged at her from the side.

"Bad move!!" (Kento)

"You should talk." No sooner had Midoriko spoken, then her 'blade' broke into a thorned whip and quickly encircled the Ronin's body; the whip tightened around Kento, binding his arms above his head and his legs together. Midoriko gave a sadistic smirk as she jerked the handle and threw Kento across the field and into the barrier (this weapon is not a copy of, Soul Calibur's, Ivy's weapon; it's based off a real weapon that I found reports of on a website that features swords and stuff…so, don't whine).

Kento struggled to his feet as Midoriko dashed across the field and kicked him in the gut before kicking his hands out from under him; Kento rolled out of the way of a third strike and got up to launch a counter attack. He stumbled for a moment; Kento felt weaker and more exhausted than he should've for some reason but he couldn't figure out why. He barely countered her next strike.

**weapons clashing**

They exchanged blow after blow; Kento felt himself beginning to wear down. They jumped back from eachother and Midoriko gave a laugh as she produced another blood red rose from the forest-colored folds of her velvet coat.

"This was fun, boy; but I'm done with you." With that, Midoriko threw the rose at Kento, like a ninja would hurl a kunai or shuriken; the rose cut Kento's cheek before landing in the ground. Kento blinked as the small pain grew into an agonizing burning; he dropped to his knees and clutched one hand to his stomach and the other to the cut as the poison from the rose's stem raced through his veins.

"KENTO!! KENTO!!" Ryo screamed as he pounded on the barrier; the barrier shattered with a final punch and Ryo ran to Kento's side as Midoriko jumped into a tree and looked down at the two Ronins.

"Don't worry; I only used enough poison to make him sick; he won't die." With that, Midoriko disappeared into the dark woods. Ryo carefully picked Kento up and carried him back to the truck; he swore under his breath as Kento's labored breathing and pained groans echoed through the woods.

~Mia's house, Kento's room~

Kento lay in his bed; Secmet administering the final dose of the antidote to the poison; they were lucky, the poison was a plant-based mix and Secmet was an expert on all forms of poison and their antidotes, even if he was a fucking nutcase (former Warlord of Venom, people). The return had been easy enough, aswell as the treatment, but nothing was helping Ryo's bad mood.

~Mia's house, Ryo's room~

Ryo lay in his bed; a scowl was set on his face. White Blaze lay at his feet on the bed; the tiger watched his friend in concern. Ryo rolled onto his side as the fire licked at his insides again; he could swear that he felt like his body was burning up. He growled lowly as he struggled to calm the sea of emotions that was threatening to spin out of control and make the fire devour him whole.

_Why am I feeling like this; it's like something inside of me wants to get out, like it wants to kill; that's not me so why do I feel this way?!!_ Ryo argued with himself mentally as he tossed and turned; cold sweat running down his heated face and body. His breathing grew labored as the fire grew in intensity, every emotion within him stoking the flames over and over again; what the hell was causing this?!

A good twenty minutes later, the blazing inferno cooled to a slowly burning flame; Ryo panted weakly as he clenched his eyes shut, feeling completely drained from the entire ordeal. He could feel the fire still burning deep inside of him; he bit his lower lip as he forced the fire, and all of the emotions that fueled it, back into the depths of his heart. Just as he started to drift into sleep, his eyes locked on the pale blue rose that shimmered so beautifully in the silver light of the moon.

~Mia's house, study~

Kale leaned against the cool glass of the window as he looked out to the night sky; he could feel the aura radiating off Ryo and it disturbed him greatly. Kale sipped at the vodka in the ornate shot glass in his hand as a contemplative look crossed his face; he growled lowly as every piece of information that he dared not speak began to come together, like puzzle pieces, in his mind.

_If he is the heir, the Sanada family may regain their demon slayer abilities; no one wants to risk that, but that'll only happen if he sides with them which I doubt he will, he doesn't even know about them; this is getting to be too much...I wish my mate was here to assure me that keeping my damn mouth shut is a good idea...hell, even Koji'd be a blessing right now._ Kale growled at his thoughts as he turned his gaze to the moon in the sky; he remembered all of the stories that his 'father' had told him and his 'brother' when he'd been a pup; the stories of the ancient war and of the warrior, Toushi of the Black Fire. He closed his eyes as he drifted back into his memories of his childhood with his 'brother' and his pack.

Kale shook himself out of his reverie before his memory went too far, not that he'd have minded if it did; he missed his pack so much but he knew that he couldn't return to them until he'd completely atoned for the sins of his time as a Dark Warlord. Kale growled softly as he refocused on the situation at hand; he'd always suspected that the Ronin of Wildfire might be the heir in the prophecy, but if that was good or bad had yet to be seen. Kale took another sip of his vodka as he looked up at the silvery moon in the ink black sky; a soft growl passing his lips as his eyes narrowed.

_All hell's gonna break loose before this is all said and done and we've got a front row seat..._

* * *

Shateu: Chapter four is finished at last! I rule!! (happy dance) What prophecy could Kale be referring to? You'll have to read on to find out!

Kale: Are you on the same shit Secmet's on?!!

Shateu: Shut it, Drinky; I still have those pictures. (smirks)

Kale: Damn hell-bitch. (reads last part of fic) You made me look pathetic at the end!!

Shateu: No, I didn't; I made you even cooler and more mysterious than you already are! You'll be a total badass!!

Kale: You're on crack!! (pissed off look) I don't want my life story exposed by you!!

Shateu: It's my story and I'll do whatever I want!!

Kale: Over my dead body!! (pulls out sword and strikes Shateu)

Shateu & Kale: (start fighting; Kale with his sword and Shateu with her chain mace)

Cye: (walks up as fight continues in background) R & R, please; thank you. (soft smile)

loud crashing sounds in background

Cye: (nervous sweatdrops) Oh boy…MEDIC!!!


	5. Rise Of The Seven Stars Warlords

**Between Love And Hate**

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ronin Warriors; wish I did, but I don't. The only characters I own in this story are Lady Twilight/Ivy (the half demon), and anyone else who isn't originally from the RW-universe.

Betaed by my good buddy, Jase.

Legend: "speech" / _thought_ / **sound effect** / (author's notes) / ~scene change~ / #dream#

* * *

Chapter 5: Rise Of The Seven Stars; Battle Of The Warlords

* * *

**sounds of heavy breathing and pained gasps**

Ryo twisted sharply beneath the blankets and sheets; cold sweat raced down his face as the throes of the nightmare overtook his formerly peaceful sleep. He thrashed wildly; tiger blue eyes clenched tight, tears streaking down his face, as he gasped sharply for each breath. His heart thundered violently in his chest as he fought to scream out and end the nightmare that imprisoned his mind.

#dream begins#

Fire engulfed him at every turn; flames of hot white with hearts of even brighter white that burned like purest hellfire, flames of raging black with hearts of deepest purple, flames that burned with the raw fire he knew so well. The heat was unbearable without his armor; the Ronin of Wildfire sank to his knees amidst the raging inferno that had ensnared him so completely. He gasped against the violently heating air; his lungs burning within him as the ravenous flames devoured every last molecule of the precious oxygen he craved. Ryo clutched vainly at his chest; he wanted to scream for help but feared the flames getting inside him and devouring him completely.

_No...I can't die...I can't die like this!!_ He screamed at himself; he felt the inner flame blaze to life. He stood against the flames as he drew his arm protectively over himself. The raging inferno danced wildly before him; it was almost like the fires were teasing him, daring him to try to conquer their irrepressible might. He felt the fire lick up his arms and ignite wildly, his skin unburned. Ryo threw his arms out and the flames of the inferno violently absorbed into his skin; the Ronin of Wildfire screamed aloud as the fire tore through his body.

He dropped to his knees as the flames of the violent inferno died to a slowly burning pit fire; he slowly stood as the flames still burned up his forearms. Ryo could feel the raw power surging through him as he came face to face with the cause of the flames; a being with raven-wing black hair, which fell wildly around its tanned face, stood before him with volcanic red eyes blazing from under the thick bangs. Ryo stepped back as the fire apparition parted its lips into a smile that looked like his own, but held infinitely more sinister implications; this creature looked so much like him yet so different at the same time. Its fangs gleamed in the firelight; Ryo growled deep in his throat, fighting back the raw terror that was coursing through him with the speed of an out-of-control wildfire.

"Who-who the hell are you?!" (Ryo)

The apparition just smirked; the intricate, tribal-style tattoo-markings that covered the left side of its face and trailed down the left side of its body to just below its ribs, covering its left entire left arm to the fingertips and its back to the edge of its left shoulder blade, stood out starkly in the firelight. Ryo began to falter from his earlier 'fight' plan; this was just too freaky; this was like looking into a mirror to some kind of twisted hell dimension or something. The fire apparition's forearms were soon engulfed in flames as it stepped closer to the Ronin of Wildfire so that they were nearly chest-to-chest; its voice was low, almost feral-sounding, as it spoke.

"Soon you will know and accept everything." (apparition)

#dream ends#

Ryo gasped sharply as the dream, if one could call it a 'dream', ended and his body was finally allowed to wake; his eyes were wild as he scanned the darkness for any signs of the creature from the dream. He was shaking violently as the fear-induced adrenaline rush kept pumping its way through his system; he could still feel the sensation of the fire burning against his bare skin and the aching in his lungs from the inferno-heated air. Ryo raked his fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm himself down.

With a heavy, exhausted sigh, Ryo laid himself back on his bed; his eyes locked on the ceiling above him as he tried to force himself to go back to sleep, failing miserably. The silver moon hung brilliantly in the night sky as it watched over the young Ronin in her care...and the beautiful, white armor-clad woman who was perched in the tree outside of said-Ronin's bedroom window; the moon watched as the woman disappeared from her post; the moon was the only witness to the tears shed in that instant by both the Ronin of Wildfire and the demon general. The moon watched as the bluenette on the roof kept a steely gaze on the demon general as she departed; the scarred child of the darkness sipped at the bottle in his hands.

Kale jumped from the roof to the balcony; he set the wine bottle on his dresser for moment as he went over to a small box of carved ebony that sat on his bed. He opened the box and drew the contents from the inky depths, the thin chain of silver swayed from his hand as he gripped the pendant tight; he didn't need a crystal ball to predict what was going to happen soon; the Seven Stars were going to make their next move and he'd bet his soul that the Ex-Warlords were next on the target list.

~next morning, Mia's kitchen~

Ryo was stumbling through the kitchen; the only people around were himself, the Ex-Warlords, White Blaze, Kayura, and Mia; the latter two in that list having left a good ten minutes earlier to go and buy groceries since Cye was still out of commission. The Ronin of Wildfire fumbled tiredly with the freshly microwaved, slightly over-'cooked', cup of chicken-flavored Instant Ramen; he rubbed at his eyes and cringed as he thought about his friends' current states.

Rowen had locked himself in his 'lab' to work on something possibly illegal and to deal with the minor breathing problems he still had from his fight against Leiko of the Wind; Sage was meditating in his room in attempt to try and will himself through the pain of his still healing electrical burns that were courtesy of his fight with Nozomi of the Thunder; Cye was sleeping in his room as he recovered from his fight against Unmei of the Sea; and Kento was still recovering from the poisoning he'd received from Midoriko of the Wood.

Ryo set the cup of ramen on the counter and pressed his forehead to the cabinet over the counter; fresh tears fell from his eyes as the memories of the recent battles replayed themselves in a continuous loop in his mind. No matter how he ran the scenes, he knew that there was nothing he could've done to prevent his friends' injuries and that there wasn't anything he could do to prevent anyone else from getting hurt. His memories of combat shifted to his memories of the demoness who now held his heart in a vise.

Ryo violently slammed his fist into the door of the cabinet, the wood cracking under his fist and splintering; why did every thought of his friends and the fighting immediately turn into thoughts of someone who he could never get close to because they were on two completely different sides?

_What the fuck is wrong with me?!_ Ryo thought as he glanced at the damaged cabinet, now fully aware of the damage he'd unintentionally caused. Ryo bit his lower lip and went to pick up his cup of ramen only to find it no longer on the counter; he turned to glare at the ramen thief who was none other than their resident wacko, as they all referred to him as, Secmet. Ryo growled dangerously at the half-snake; Secmet seemed oblivious to the near-borderline-homicidal Ronin in front of him.

"Secmet…" Ryo said with a low tone; he was so not in the mood to be dealing with Secmet right now; he'd already had his full dose of crazy for the month. Secmet looked at Ryo, a nice clump of noodles hanging out of his closed, and full, mouth; he slurped the ramen into his mouth and smirked a fanged, snaky smirk at the Ronin of Wildfire.

"You know what? Keep it; I wasn't hungry anyway." Ryo said in disgust; it was rare that he felt this violent towards anyone, even Secmet, but he wasn't about to beat the 'nutcase' completely senseless over a fifty-eight cent cup of Instant Ramen no matter how bad a mood he was in. Ryo scowled and stalked from the kitchen, White Blaze at his heels. Secmet watched Ryo leave then turned towards the door when he noticed Kale walk in.

"Hey Kale; any idea what's fucking up Wildfire?" (Secmet)

"He's a bipolar-fucking-time bomb; what other reason does he need, dumbass?" Kale said sharply; he knew, or atleast suspected, the real reasons behind the normally slightly-off-center Ronin's recent volatile behavior…but knew that he couldn't say a thing or he'd expose, to all of them, just what a role he'd REALLY played in the war a year ago. Kale went over to the liquor cabinet, scowling in anger once his eyes caught sight of the nice sized padlock that Daius had recently installed on said-cabinet in a vain attempt to curb Kale's drinking habit. Secmet watched the former Warlord of Darkness and sighed; he went over and easily picked the lock for Kale.

No one else knew it, but the two of them had a relatively strong friendship that had been brought on when Kale had been the only one to recognize that Secmet was the offspring of a snake and a human and when Secmet had learned of Kale's real past and vowed, in a special ritual that Kale'd insisted on, that he would never tell anyone the bluenette's true history…even under torture. Secmet was the only one who knew where Kale truly came from and Kale knew of and had kept his secret even after everyone had figured it out.

"Some major shit's going to be going down, isn't it?" (Secmet)

"No shit, Sherlock." Kale responded as he dug through the liquor cabinet in search of something strong enough to get his mood into a semblance of cheery. Secmet nodded; he was ever offended by Kale's abrasiveness; he'd learned that being volatile was Kale's persona and that he treated everyone, friend or foe, like that. Secmet wondered for a brief moment if anyone else would ever realize that about the scarred Ex-Warlord and finally learn to let most of the shit slide; he shook his head and laughed at the thought of anyone other than him ever letting Kale's comments slide.

"What the hell are you laughing--no, wait, I don't want to know." (Kale)

"It's nothing anyway; enjoy your booze, Drinky." Secmet responded as he wandered off to go and make sure that Kento was recovering from the poisoning. Kale rolled his eyes and leaned against the window with a bottle of scotch he'd found; Daius was going to fucking kill him for digging out the expensive stuff but he didn't care right now.

_My beloved, if you were here, I wouldn't need the alcohol to be happy; I'll find a way back to you soon._ He thought as he took a slow drink of the warm liquid. Kale twitched for a moment and set the bottle down; something was VERY wrong and he'd be damned if he just let it go; this was his territory and his new 'pack' and there was no way in hell that he was going to allow any more harm to come to them. Kale shot out the door and into the woods in the direction that his instincts were screaming at him to go in.

~deep in the woods~

Kale came to a stop; his eyes darted around the area as he sought the reason for his inner instincts going insane. He froze when he saw Anubis's bloody and broken body laying in a pool of his own blood at the base of a tree. Kale snarled and dashed over to his fallen comrade, dropping to one knee and checking for signs of life in the redhead; he gave a small sigh of relief at the feeling of a weak, but steady, pulse under his fingertips.

Kale snapped his attention to a tree branch where he'd glimpsed the snowy white and obsidian black clad figure; he gave a threatening, feral growl as he drew himself to kneel protectively infront of Anubis's fallen form. The figure watched him through icy lavender eyes before the eyes disappeared with the figure. Kale nodded, understanding the silent linguistics of demons that humans would never grasp without years of study. He carefully lifted the Ex-Warlord over his shoulder and carried him back to the house.

~Mia's house, Anubis's room~

Kale carefully laid the beaten Anubis onto the bed; he knew who was responsible for this and it sickened him to the core that a demon ninja would go after a clearly unarmed, and unarmored, opponent then leave them as bait to lure out the rest of their targets; in truth, said-actions sounded more like the work of the human 'ninja' and human bandits that he'd fought against for the majority of his early life.

"K-Kale...?" (Anubis)

"Don't talk, dumbass; I pretty sure your ribs, collarbone, left arm, and left shoulder are broken…and the rest of you ain't in good shape either." Kale said as he treated the injuries, making a mental note to promise to beat the shit out of Anubis if the redhead ever told ANYONE that Kale had not only carried him back to the house but had treated all of his injuries; he could just hear the possible ridicule the Daius and Kento would have about Kale 'going soft'.

Anubis watched Kale through half-lidded eyes; he couldn't really feel the immense pain, that he knew he should be experiencing, from his injuries, he just felt completely numb; the numb feeling reminded him of that time Mia had forced them to go to that thrice-damned dentist, 'torture specialist' was more like it, and he'd had to have his 'wisdom teeth', as the 'doctor' called them, cut out…thankfully the other former Warlords had to go through the same thing (I had all four of mine cut out at once; all I can say is painkillers are a good thing...okay, gonna shut up now).

"Sh-she said…she said she was going after…after everyone else and that 'the wolf can't save them'…" Anubis said weakly as Kale worked; he was so out of it from the blood loss that he near-missed the feral growl that left Kale. He closed his eyes as he struggled to straighten his thoughts enough to finish repeating what the woman had said to him before, and while, she'd been beating the crap out of him.

"She said that 'the heir will be the last to fall and will fall by the Flame's might'; who was she talking about? Who's 'the wolf' and who's 'the heir'?" Anubis said after collecting himself; from how she'd said 'the Flame' he suspected that she was referring to Kyoko of the Flame, the leader of the Seven Stars. Kale stayed deathly silent; once Anubis's injuries had been set and treated, he hit a pressure point that knocked Anubis out cold.

"This is getting out of control..." Kale muttered darkly as he walked out of the room; The Seven Stars were saving Ryo for Kyoko to fight, that meant that himself, Daius, and Secmet would be fighting the same person who'd just kicked the crap out of Anubis. Kale growled lowly; he atleast owed it to the others to fill them in that they were the next targets.

_Fucking hell, why do I have to be such a nice guy?_ Kale mentally grumbled as he stalked down the hall and towards the stairs; he stopped off at Ryo's room to grab the brooding Ronin of Wildfire and haul the protesting, bipolar teen down to the den where he clearly heard the sounds of Daius swearing very violently at Secmet about something involving a 'bag of cherry bombs' and a 'barrel of dead fish'.

"FUCK OFF, KALE!!! PUT ME DOWN, YOU BASTARD!!!" (Ryo)

"Not on your fucking life, Bipolar Boy; now shut the fuck up, this is important." (Kale)

~Mia's house, den~

Daius stopped mid-throw when Kale walked in with Ryo over his shoulder; the encyclopedia in his hand dropped backwards from his loosened grip and landed on the plush carpet with a soft 'thunk'. Secmet got up from his hiding spot behind the couch and stared at Kale as the former Warlord deposited the Ronin of Wildfire onto the couch. Ryo scowled at Kale; White Blaze walking in once he noticed that Ryo was in the room with the three Ex-Warlords. Kale held a serious expression on his face as he crossed his arms firmly over his chest.

"Anubis got his ass kicked." (Kale)

"What--when?!" Daius near-shouted in anger, earning a small look from Secmet; Secmet immediately made the look disappear when he realized that Daius had caught him. Ryo frowned angrily; someone else had gotten hurt, which of the Seven Stars was behind this attack? Kale waited for them to settle before continuing.

"The one who came after him was most likely Amaya of the Spirit; she's a demon ninja with one hell of an attitude problem when it comes to everyone…mainly guys." (Kale)

"Just fucking perfect..." (Ryo)

"Oh, it gets better. She's the one coming after us." Kale said as he pointed to himself, then Daius, and finally Secmet; he then rubbed at the side of his head. Daius growled sharply and took off upstairs, with Secmet hot on his heels like normal, to check on Anubis; Ryo reached down to pet White Blaze before turning his gaze up to Kale.

"Which of the Seven Stars is coming after me?" (Ryo)

"Kyoko of the Flame." (Kale)

"That leaves one who isn't fighting." Ryo said simply; Kale blinked momentarily before what Ryo had said filtered through his brain. He gave a small sigh before locking his eyes with Ryo's.

"Mika of the Frost." (Kale)

"Yeah; maybe she's going after one of them?" Ryo muttered, 'them' meaning Daius and/or Secmet. Kale shook his head as he uncrossed his arms, the scowl still on his face; even if Mika of the Frost were a fighter, which she wasn't, Kyoko of the Flame wouldn't allow her to fight.

"Doubtful; she's a healer, not a fighter. Even if she could fight, she wouldn't be allowed to." (Kale)

"Why not?" (Ryo)

"Her mate's highly over-protective of her." Kale said simply, waiting for what he said to filter into Ryo's brain so he could see the Ronin's reaction; but no reaction came. Ryo shrugged as the words floated through his brain, nothing Kale'd just said even registering in his mind. Kale rubbed at his temples at the lack of response; maybe the kid hadn't understood what he'd just implied, if he hadn't, he'd learn soon enough.

"Hey Kale…" (Ryo)

"What, Wildfire?" (Kale)

"You ever been in love?" Ryo asked quietly; the unexpected question completely threw Kale off his proverbial game and caused him to have to blink several times before it fully filtered into his brain. He went quiet for a moment as he though of his beloved, his mate; he couldn't tell the boy…but he could atleast imply, right?

"Yeah; still am; why the need for a 'share-fest'?" (Kale)

"No reason." Ryo mumbled as he got up and walked away; Kale growled softly and waited till the Ronin and the tiger had left the room before he smacked his head against the doorjamb.

_That explains most of this shit he's been pulling; he's in love and it's making him even more moody that a demoness during the blood moon._ Kale muttered in his mind as he smacked his head again; things had just gotten a fuckload more difficult.

~outside, by the lake~

Daius was pacing by the ruins of the dock; he scowled furiously as his mind went into overdrive to come up with ways to 'interrogate' Kale into giving over every last bit of information he knew. Secmet was perched on a large rock, watching the former Warlord of Illusion as he paced like a madman; the half snake knew that Kale knew more than he was telling and that it wasn't to be cruel; Kale was trying to avoid giving away anything about his past that would further alienate him from a group that he barely belonged in to begin with as Kento had put it once.

**sound of a kunai slicing through the air**

Daius and Secmet narrowly got out of the way as the kunai was impaled in the ground; their gazes shot around wildly to seek out their attacker but seeing nothing. Daius angrily pushed several long locks of hair out of the range of sight of his good eye; Secmet snapped his head from one side to the next before settling on trying to use his snake senses, instead of his human senses, to locate his target.

A figure clad in snowy white and obsidian black dropped from the sky, landing in a defensive crouch before standing and taking them in from under her onyx-colored, wide-brimmed hat; the steel blade that rimmed the edge of the hat brim gleamed in the setting sun's light. The girl, physically no older than sixteen, raised the hat enough to reveal her face to her prey.

Her eyes, shards of lavender ice that could have rivaled Sage's own, gleamed with a predatory look from the shadows of the hat brim; the expression she held was a carefully constructed blank mask. The breeze kicked up and ruffled the long mane of silver that cascaded down her back to her hips. Her gaze pierced to the core; those inhuman eyes acting less like eyes meant for 'seeing' and more like eyes meant for 'target acquisition'.

She wore what could only be deemed as a bra made of blackened chainmail; her lightly tanned abdomen completely exposed to the air and attacks if one was a good enough fighter. A cropped jacket of purest white, emblazoned with tribal symbols, along the elbow-length sleeves and back, done in black and deepest crimson, covered her upper back and melded almost seamlessly with the blackened chainmail bra. Her legs were clad in obsidian black, flare-legged, low-rise pants; the outer seams were held together only by a single white leather cord that had been intricately laced through the polished steel grommets at the mid-calf to the waistband; the pants below the mid of her calves was open and free moving. A wrapped skirt of snowy white, with the same tribal symbols woven into it as the jacket, covered her left leg down to her ankle; the skirt was held at her waist by a belt of thick black leather, the buckle a steel tribal-style piece that stood out sharply. Her feet were clad in grey-black wraps that covered from the arch to the ankle and further up to just below her knees; her hands and forearms were wrapped in a similar grey-black material from the second knuckle to mid-forearm.

One of the girl's hands went behind her to the small of her back and she easily slid the ornate, Kris long-dagger from its crimson-colored sheath and brought it infront of her; the blade's twin remained in the second crimson sheath at the small of her back, eagerly waiting to be drawn into combat against the two former Warlords. She slowly brought the beautiful blade in her hands up to her black-painted lips and licked the dried blood, Anubis's blood, from the ornately engraved blade. Daius and Secmet took their defensive stances, summoning their armors in the process; a barrier of meshed maroon and dark green formed around the makeshift battlefield.

The girl made a move to go at them but stopped mid-movement; her icy eyes leveled on the three figures just outside the barrier and a small chuckle escaped her lips when her eyes landed on the three who were now standing outside the barrier. Kale, Ryo, and White Blaze stood there; barely contained rage burned in Ryo's tiger blue eyes. The girl drew her blade up to her lips and licked the dried blood a second time.

"That's not very hygienic." (Kale)

"May not be, but it's certainly delicious." (girl)

"Amaya of the Spirit." (Kale)

"That's my name; making the kill and drinking the spill is my game." The girl, now known to the remaining warriors as Amaya of the Spirit, said with a sadistic chuckle. Daius gave Kale a stern look that promised violence to come on the former Warlord of Darkness; Secmet focused his full attention of Amaya as she drew her blade from her lips and returned to a fighting stance with the blade held just infront of her abdomen.

Ryo slammed his fists against the barrier, wishing against everything that he could do something to stop this; he may not like Daius or Secmet that much, but he didn't want to watch them get beaten, possibly killed, by this demon. He growled deep in his throat; White Blaze stared up at the Ronin of Wildfire in concern. Kale dropped his arms to his sides as he steeled himself to watch the fight that was about to commence.

Amaya charged at Daius first; separating him and Secmet with a flurry of kicks and slashes from the blade in her left hand; Daius blocked as many strikes as he could with his forearms, all the while trying to counter or counterattack or something, anything would be better than being forced onto the ropes like he was. Secmet lunged at Amaya, hoping to catch her off-guard by attacking her back, only to be caught by a reverse roundhouse to the head as the demon ninja pushed away from Daius at the last second to catch the former Warlord of Venom's attempted strike.

"Fucking hell…" (Secmet)

"Now, now, little snake; you stay right there on the ground like a good serpent should; I'll be getting to you in just a moment." Amaya said with a chuckle before turning her attention to Daius again; easily parrying the strike from the former Warlord of Illusion's attack. Daius growled; his anger beginning to get the best of his judgment. Amaya gave another chuckle and caught him by the throat, her hand easily slipping into the gap between helmet and body armor to wrap clawed fingers around pale flesh; Daius winced beneath the mask as the claws nicked the flesh of his throat and those cold fingers began to tighten to cut off the flow of air.

Secmet lunged forward, despite the pain in his head from the earlier kick to the head; he slammed two of his swords forward and impaled the blades completely through the demoness's exposed back and abdomen; silver-tinted crimson spilled from the freshly inflicted wounds. Amaya dropped Daius and her rage-fueled gaze leveled on the two sword blades that extended from her abdomen; she stumbled for a moment before turning and firing a blast of raw energy at Secmet, the blast catching him square in the chest and throwing him backwards into the barrier.

sounds of Daius coughing in the background as electricity crackles around Secmet

"You wretched little snake…" Amaya snarled lowly as she reached behind her and forcefully pulled the one blade out of her back; she repeated the movement on the second and dropped the bloody weapons to the ground. Secmet fell from the barrier and coughed on the ground; Amaya snarled and kicked him square in the abdomen until he fell to his side on the ground. She snarled lowly and slammed a violent kick downwards onto his ribs; the armor cracked under the force of the spirit-charged kick.

"DAMNIT!!!" Ryo snarled as he slammed his fists repeatedly into the barrier; he felt the fire igniting within him as he watched the brawl, heaven and hell knew that THIS could never be called a 'fight' and even less a 'fair fight'. Kale growled lowly and slammed his own fists into the barrier; his eyes desperately looking for something, anything, that could give away the location of the barrier's 'seam', the weak point that if broken would shatter the barrier.

Daius lunged at Amaya from behind, trying to take advantage of her distraction with kicking the crap out of Secmet, and tackled her to the ground; he knew it was a dirty tactic, but desperation was kicking in. The demoness snarled up at him then smirked as her silver-red aura became visible. Suddenly Daius found himself being violently torn off of the demoness on the ground and thrown into the barrier by…Amaya?!

"Holy...shit..." Daius growled lowly when he saw two demonesses, exact duplicates, standing side by side; the two smirked and lunged at Daius, easily overtaking the now drained former Warlord. Secmet struggled to his feet, only for one of the two to abandon Daius and charge at him. Ryo's eyes widened and he resumed slamming his fists into the barrier; he armored up and slammed his now armor-clad fists into the barrier. Kale drew back when he realized that the fight was over, a snarl playing off his face.

**sounds of Daius and Secmet's bodies hitting the ground**

The two duplicates shot towards eachother and reformed into a single Amaya; the barrier shattered with the former Warlords falling unconscious and hitting the ground. Ryo dashed over and tried to strike at her only to have the ninja jump out of the way and levitate into the twilight sky. Kale checked Daius and Secmet, relieved that they were still breathing, then turned his attention to the enraged Ronin of Wildfire and the demon ninja who was floating out of reach in the sky.

"Another time, little boy; see you in hell, little wolf!" Amaya said with a smirk as she disappeared into the shadows as twilight slipped completely into nightfall. Ryo ran back over to help Kale with moving the now-unarmored, and badly injured, former Warlords into the house to treat them; he was so close to being alone now; Kale would obviously be next on the list for the Seven Stars…Ryo may not have liked the psychotic former Warlord, but Kale's presence was better than being completely alone and on his own.

Kale watched Ryo from the corner of his eyes and growled; this was getting to the point where he'd have no choice; expose himself, and his past, completely or try to put a stop to the Seven Stars before they succeeded in whatever the hell there mission was. He weighed his options heavily and once again wished that either his mate or his 'brother' were there to help him with this decision.

~Mia's house, living room~

Ryo was lying on the couch, depression and rage taking over; Mia and Kayura had returned about an hour ago, and Mia had immediately resumed her role of nurse, a role she'd played quite often to the Ronins, to the three injured Ex-Warlords. The other Ronins had been informed of what'd happened, and it was obvious that none of them were in any kind of condition to fight. Ryo bit his lower lip and rolled onto his side; there had to be a way to stop this before the Seven Stars struck again and took down Kale and himself.

_If we're taken out; Kayura would still be around...but from what Kale's said, I doubt she'd stand a chance against these seven..._ Ryo thought darkly; he winced and wrapped his arms around his chest as he felt that fire within him growing hotter and stronger. The Ronin of Wildfire tightened his grip around himself and rolled over to bury his face in the couch cushion to hide the pain-stricken look on his face; how he wished there were some way to get out of this mess for good.

~Mia's house, roof~

Kale lay back on the roof; he'd promised everyone that he'd stay inside, but he was Kale and he lied. He turned his gaze to the night sky above him and toyed with the ornate dagger in his hands, a weapon he'd 'borrowed' from the leader of a group of demon-hunting samurai many years ago. He sat up and looked at his own reflection in the shining blade; the time for secrets was over.

_I have too damn much to lose with this...I'm not losing my chance at finding my mate; I'm not losing my freedom; I'm not losing my chance at redemption; and I'm sure as hell not going to lose my life._ Kale stood up and sheathed the dagger in the leather sheath on his leg; he jumped from the rooftop and landed perfectly on the balcony. Ryo needed to know why all this was happening and had a right to know why he was suffering like this…and if Ryo or the others wouldn't accept the truth, Kale'd personally beat it into them until they did; there was no way in hell that he was going to lose everything he'd fought so hard to obtain and get back.

* * *

Shateu: Chapter five is hot off the presses! (jumps up and down happily) Will everything be revealed in chapter six or am I just pulling your legs? (grins) READ ON TO FIND OUT!!!!

Kale: (smoking a cigarette) Somebody needs to call the guys in the white coats on you.

Shateu: You know all about the guys in the white coats; don't you?

Kale: Sure, I do; they just carted off Secmet and Daius. (gestures behind him)

Secmet & Daius: (being wheeled away in straightjackets, anti-bite masks, and upright gurneys straight out of **Silence of the Lambs**; Secmet is humming a funeral dirge while Daius is screaming that he's going to get Kale for this)

Kale: (evil grin) Took way too fucking long for them to be shipped out.

Shateu: (watches as Secmet and Daius are wheeled away) Damn…and I thought that I was evil.

Kale: R& R or face the wrath of Bipolar Boy. (takes a drag on his cigarette)

Ryo: (off camera) I AM NOT BIPOLAR, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!!!!!


	6. Rise Of The Seven Stars Fire Vs Fire

**Between Love And Hate**

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ronin Warriors; wish I did, but I don't. The only characters I own in this story are Lady Twilight/Ivy (the half demon), and anyone else who isn't originally from the RW-universe.

Betaed by my good buddy, Jase.

Note: Kyoko's description is back in chapter four in the scene with her conversation with Lady Twilight/Ivy. Look there if you forgot what she looks like. (I'm too lazy to re-write her description right now.)

BTW: There are hints of canon OC-yuri/fem-slash; nothing major though.

Legend: "speech" / _thought_ / **sound effect** / (author's notes) / ~scene change~

* * *

Chapter 6: Rise Of The Seven Stars; Fire Against Fire

* * *

The half fox/half fire demon watched the mansion from a high branch; she chuckled lowly as she pressed one clawed hand to the trunk of the gnarled old tree. Her predatory, golden eyes glowed with an almost sadistic amusement as she shifted the hand that rested on the hilt of her Kodachi blade. Her fox ears pricked at attention as she heard footsteps approaching the tree she was perched in.

"Kyoko of the Flame; get down here." (Kale)

"And what gives a mere human the right to summon me?" Kyoko said lowly as her eyes locked with the eyes of the former Warlord of Darkness. Kale's gaze remained calm as he gripped his hands into fists; he had sought this demon out for a reason and he wasn't going to be turned away.

"Does a mere fox refuse an order from a wolf prince?" Kale said with a low snarl; the silver crescent moon pendant around his neck gleamed in the faint sunlight that pierced the tree's branches. The demoness narrowed her eyes as she considered, for only a moment, her options. She dropped to the ground and crossed her arms; her predatory eyes held steady against equally predatory black-brown ones. (I sorta forgot Kale's eye color…crap.)

"And what proof do you have, human?" Kyoko said just before her eyes slid down to lock on the pendant; the blood red stone in the center of the crescent-shaped pendant brought a snarl to her normally blank mask. Kale's gaze never once faltered as their eyes met again; pure anger and raw disgust sparked like black lightning in the former Warlord's smoldering gaze. The two stood in a death silence for several minutes; to most, it seemed that they were lost, but they were merely sizing one another up.

"The human 'prince' of the Blood Moon Tribe; what a disgusting turn of events." (Kyoko)

"No more disgusting than a demon ninja acting like a human bandit." (Kale)

"Touché; while I don't approve of Amaya's methods, her results are beyond compare." (Kyoko)

"Even if she disgraces all demonkind?!" Kale said coldly as his fists tightened their grip to the point that his knuckles turned white; how any demon could go against over five millennia's worth of credence and code and no one even care made his stomach turn to the point he felt he could taste the bile in his mouth. The two's eyes remained locked for yet another several moments before they broke the silence.

"Surely this isn't only about one of my subordinates; what's the real reason you've sought me out?" (Kyoko)

"These Ronins, the other Ex-Warlords, and everyone else in that house are MY pack; leave them alone." (Kale)

"Sorry; no can do; I have my orders and the only reason you aren't beaten within an inch of your life is because I'm not interested in enraging the Shadow Priestess by near-killing her pitiful, human mate." Kyoko said sharply as she turned to leave; she turned slightly to look over her shoulder at Kale and snarled at him.

"Stupid human; you played your part in this war already; be a good little human and back down so that we can finish this irritating little game." Kyoko snarled out again; just as she was about to leave, a Kodachi sword was infront of her and blocking her path. Kale held the ornate weapon steady as he moved to stand infront of the half fox/half fire demon.

"Sorry; I don't roll over and play dead." Kale said coldly as he brought the blade back and sheathed it in the midnight black scabbard in his hand; his eyes never left the demoness before him. Kyoko gave a small chuckled and shifted her body to a combat stance; her hand ghosted over the hilt of her own Kodachi. Kale shifted his own body into combat stance quickly; his gaze stayed steady as they moved to circle eachother a couple times.

"Name the rules of the battle, little wolf 'prince'." (Kyoko)

"One on one; no armor, no powers; just martial arts and these swords." (Kale)

"And the stakes?" (Kyoko)

"I win, you tell me what Lady Twilight is planning and any other information I want to know." (Kale)

"And if I win, little wolf?" (Kyoko)

"If you win, I'll return your Flame Amulet." Kale said lowly; at 'Flame Amulet', the demon's eyes darkened to a fire gold-colored hue; the amulet that focused and magnified her fire powers, and unlocked her kyubbi powers, had been stolen a century ago and she should have known that a warrior who could manipulate shadows at will had been guilty of the theft. They nodded to one another, signaling that the match was set and a barrier of midnight and sable-black forged around them.

~next morning; Mia's living room~

The Ronins and Ex-Warlords, minus Kale, had gathered in the living room; they spread out, as best some could. Sage had finally healed from the electrical burns and was helping Rowen get Anubis, who was the worst off out of all of them, onto one of the couches. Cye took a seat on the floor, just infront of the couch that Anubis was lying on. Kento had commandeered one of the chairs; he had just finished recovering, from the poisoning, that afternoon. Both Secmet and Daius were on the other couch; both were still in pretty bad shape from their two-on-one brawl. Mia and Kayura were walking around the room to each male and making sure that they were comfortable. Ryo was sitting in one of the large chairs; no one but White Blaze could see his fisted hands shaking from barely contained rage.

"Those girls' timing was flawless; they waited for us to go our separate ways before they attacked…and even when it was two-on-one, they still claimed victory; they are truly brilliant warriors in all respects and those we have seen are highly efficient in their job." (Kayura)

"Real nice team spirit, Lady K; cheer for the chicks who kicked our asses into last year." (Kento)

"I wasn't 'cheering' for them, Hardrock; I was merely stating an observation about--" (Kayura)

"Save it; we all know what you were sayin'." Rowen grumbled; he bowed his head for a second to force his breathing to steady; he was healed for the most part, the only problem left was that he still had issues with catching his breath at times. Everyone went quiet for a moment before Secmet made a small, half whine-half hiss.

"This might be the brain trauma and near-OD of pain killers talking, but…where's Kale?" (Secmet)

"He was here earlier…" Mia trailed off and everyone locked their eyes on one another; the Seven Stars couldn't havegotten to Kale…he had to be at a bar; yeah, that was it, Kale was at a bar and any minute now, he'd come stumbling through the front door, drunk off his ass and swearing enough to make a ship full of sailors hang their collective heads in shame; there was no way that he was in a life or death struggle against one or more of those demon warrioresses.

**front door creaks open**

Everyone snapped their heads up, atleast those who could did, and looked to the door as Kale stumbled in, battered and bleeding profusely from the numerous, sloppily bandaged, open wounds that littered his body. Kale gripped onto the front of the door with one 'bandaged' hand; his grip faltered and he quickly fell to one knee; his hand leaving a smeared, bloody handprint down the face of the door. Ryoand Sage were at his side as soon as the former Warlord of Darkness fell; struggling to support his weight, the two Ronins all but dragged Kale over to the only available couch, the loveseat, and laid him on it. Mia and Kayura rushed over with the first aid kit while everyone who could move crowded around Kale.

Kale gagged and coughed violently; he forced himself onto his side and a gob of deep crimson blood splattered onto the carpet, leaving a trail of blood coming from the left corner of his mouth. Mia and Kayuraquickly went to work with unwrapping the tattered cloth that had once been Kale's favorite burgundy T-shirt. Once they'd unwrapped the 'bandage' on his chest wound, both girls had to turn away; the sword slash on his chest was deep and stretched from a quarter of an inch above his left collarbone to a half-inch below his right hip. Sage had to take over with the medical work as Mia's stomach couldn't take it and Kayura couldn't bear to see someone in such a state.

It took the better part of an hour and a half, but Sage succeeded in 'patching' Kale up; he stepped back and looked at the Kodachi, Kale's Kodachi, in Cye's hands; he'd never seen that weapon in Kale's 'arsenal' before. Daius snarled lowly at the sight of the crescent-shaped pendant around Kale's neck; he may not know much about demons, but even he could recognize the symbol of the Blood Moon Tribe; though why a human would have a pendant that symbolized the most powerful wolf demon pack in existence was beyond him.

Anubis shifted just enough to look up, only to see that they were now short one Ronin of Wildfire; he struggled to get his bearings before forcing himself into a half sitting-half laying position. It took a couple of seconds, but once he was situated, he called out, rather weakly due to his injuries and such, to the Ronins and Ex-Warlords.

"Wildfire's gone…" (Anubis)

~deep in the woods~

Ryo ran deeper through the woods; he didn't know where he was going, only that he had to find the Seven Stars and put a stop to them. He ran faster when he felt a powerful demonic aura in the clearing ahead; the Ronin of Wildfire gritted his teeth and raced into the clearing, switching to his base armor in that single instant. Ryo stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him; the lush clearing was covered in soft, shimmering snow. He stared, wide-eyed, at the now-frozen-solid waterfall and river; the gnarled, age-blacked trees were both bare of leaves and glistening from the layers of snow and ice that clung to the aging branches; icicles of almost every size gleamed like diamonds from their precarious positions in the trees.

Ryo stepped forward, his armored feet sinking up to mid-calf in the snow; tiger blue eyes scanning the snowy clearing in search of the demonic aura he could sense so strongly. The clearing was as silent as a graveyard; it was as though all of the birds and animals had fled from this clearing in terror. Ryo clenched his fists tight as the flame that had been tormenting him for the last few weeks, roared to life once again. He stopped just at the edge of the frozen river and looked down to see fish frozen in the ice.

**footsteps crunching in the snow**

Ryo shot around at the sound of approaching footsteps; his eyes locked on the half fox/half fire demon, Kyoko, as she approached him with all the grace of a true samurai. A gentle snowfall began, the gentle breeze playing through the icicles like wind chimes. Ryo clenched his fists tighter; had he not been wearing his base armor, his knuckles would have been white. Kyoko stopped her slow advance only three feet from the Ronin of Wildfire, her hand coming to rest on the hilt of her sword as their eyes locked.

"Ronin of Wildfire, I challenge you to a duel." (Kyoko)

"That's just what I came out here looking for." Ryo ground out; the fire in his heart threatening to burn out of control in an instant. He donned his armor and drew both of his swords; Kyoko chuckled softly as she watched the Ronin.

"What the hell's so funny?!" Ryo snapped; how the hell could this demon be laughing right now? Did she not think he was a threat to her; did she not think that his fury at what her group had done to his friends would fuel his strength?

"What's funny, dear little boy, is that you're out here thinking that you're fighting for one thing when these fights are about another set of matters entirely; you may as well be an ant walking across a chess board while two grandmasters play; you can't even fathom the true reasons for these battles." (Kyoko)

"Then why don't you explain it to me?!" Ryo snapped; the fire was starting to rage out of control; the last thing he wanted to do now was 'talk'; all he wanted to do was fight.

Kyoko smirked at Ryo and drew her Kodachi blade; she shifted her position and quickly lunged at Ryo, their blades locking in that single instant. Ryo gritted his teeth as he tried to keep his footing against the raw force of the demon he was dueling.

"Just over three millennia ago, a battle, that would have destroyed the world, if the warriors who dared to fight it had lost, tore through Japan like a Katanathrough flesh. A demon warlord, the master of all Japan, was challenged by five ancient, and powerful, warriors; a kyubbisorcerer, a dragon samurai, a fallen angel, a demon warlord, and a human ninja. These five, from five separate worlds, combined their raw might to destroy the tyrant and free Japan." Kyoko said with confidence as their blades screamed out against one another.

"What the hell does that have to do with us?!" Ryo shouted as he forced their blades apart and attacked the demoness; Kyoko parried each strike as she continued to talk.

"This has nothing to do with those idiots you call 'allies', boy; two of these beings are linked directly to you alone; you are the reason for these battles." Kyoko responded as she locked their blades again.

"The demon warlord, who fought on the side of 'good', was Harial; the original bearer of the White Armor of Inferno, the second armor that you wield." (Kyoko)

Ryo nearly lost his balance at that, but regained his stance quickly; he locked swords with Kyoko again, earning an amused chuckle from the demon. She struck out at him again and their swords rang out as their blades clashed in the silence of the snow-covered clearing.

"The second, the human ninja, was a powerful warrior, and pyromancer, from a human ninja clan; he sided with the other four because his mate was an ice maiden; this ninja was cursed by the tyrant, and through his mate sacrificing her demonic power, he was saved from the curse and turned into a demon of the highest caliber." (Kyoko)

"How the fuck does that connect to me?!" Ryo shouted as he lunged at Kyoko; the fire in his heart finally burning beyond his control; he wanted answers, but he wanted this demon's blood painting the snow in hues of crimson and ruby even more.

"The ninja's name was Sanada Toushi, boy; he was your ancestor, and you are his direct descendant." Kyoko said with a cold, enigmatic smirk playing off her lips; she forced Ryo back with a sudden burst of sheer strength, an easy task since the Ronin of Wildfire was near paralyzed from his mind processing the new information. Kyoko threw Ryo to the ground and pinned him by settling her weight on his chest, her Kodachi blade pressed to his throat.

"You come from a ninja clan, boy; they were much stronger in ancient times, but because they betrayed your direct ancestor, he sealed their powers; you're a prophecy." (Kyoko)

"I'm no prophecy; I'm not a ninja…" (Ryo)

"You are the direct descendant and heir of Toushi of the Black Fire." Kyoko smirked as she spoke; the amusement in her words, at the Ronin's current state of shock and confusion, doing nothing to mask the truth and sincerity of the words she'd spoken. Ryo gritted his teeth and snarled at the half fox/half fire demon in rage; she couldn't be telling the truth; all of that, atleast about his father's family, had to have been a lie.

"You're lying." (Ryo)

"Hardly, boy; ask the former Warlord of Darkness; that wolf knows far more than he's dared to speak and he will confirm everything I've said to you." (Kyoko)

Ryo gritted his teeth; his eyes slid closed for a moment as he felt the blade nicking the skin of his throat. His eyes shot open and he wrenched one hand free, slamming the armored fist into Kyoko's temple with more than enough force to knock her off of him. Ryo forced himself to his feet and growled in fury; the snow and ice that covered the clearing melted away as literal flames sparked up his forearms and over his body. Kyoko looked at him; golden eyes gleaming with feral intensity as she watched her suspicions being confirmed.

Ryo lunged at Kyoko only for his body to stop mid-movement as a melodic voice echoed through the clearing; Ryo gave a feral snarl as he tried to force his body to move, his armored hand mere inches from the demon's throat. Kyoko chuckled as she sheathed her sword; she tapped a razor sharp claw to the paralyzed Ronin's lips as the white-clad female stepped from behind the now-flowing waterfall.

The new female was small and slender; possibly no older than seventeen. Her hair fell in soft, ice blue waves to below her shoulders; her phantom white skin almost blended with the snow-colored, silver snowflake-patterned, kimono she wore; her lips were parted as she continued to sing the siren's song that was keeping Ryo frozen in place. Her gentle, chocolate-colored eyes, so different from Kyoko's feral, golden ones, shimmered softly; her pale, slender hands came to wrap around the half fox/half fire demon's bicep as she continued to sing. She was barefoot and almost everything about her brought to mind vague images of a yuki-onna, but she was an ice maiden. Kyoko gave a soft chuckle as she wrapped one arm around the girl's slender waist.

"Till we meet again, boy; perhaps next time, you'll show me your real power." Kyoko said as she and the ice maiden disappeared in a whirl of flame. Once the two were gone, Ryo dropped to his knees; he fell to his side and wrapped his arms around his abdomen as he tried to force the fire back under control; he screamed out in agony.

By nightfall, Ryo had regained control of the inner fire; everything Kyoko had told him was echoing in his mind; she couldn't have been telling the truth…but, how could he really know unless he confronted Kale for confirmation or denial about the information? Ryo rolled onto his back and looked up at the night sky; the moon and stars keeping a calm watch over the young warrior as he struggled to make sense; if what the demon had said were true, how would it change things; would his friends turn on him; would he be attacked by more demons, or other beings?

~other side of the woods~

"Our job is finished, Mika." Kyoko said as she looked at the ice maiden, Mika of the Frost, next to her and purred softly as she licked the girl's cheek; Mika smiled and rested her head against the elder female's shoulder.

"Was all of that REALLY needed?" Came a cold voice to their right; the two demons turned and their eyes locked on Ivy as she stepped forward from the shadows, her armor shining beautifully in the moonlight; she looked like a war goddess in that moment, beautiful and deadly all in one. The two demons knelt infront of her.

"Lady Twilight…" (Kyoko)

"Save it; don't ever do anything like that again." (Ivy)

Kyoko stood and nudged Mika away; the half fox/half fire demon approached the demon general, wary of the hybrid before her; once they were shoulder-to-shoulder, Ivy leaned up and snarled at the much older demon.

"Never lay your hands on the Ronin of Wildfire again." (Ivy)

"Does that mean that my lady seeks him as a mate?" Kyoko said with far more confidence than she felt; no sooner had the words left her mouth than an armored fist collided with her jaw. The taller female hit the ground, hard, and stared up at the short, beautiful general as the younger moved to walk away.

"Watch your tongue or I'll cut it out." Ivy said sharply as she disappeared into the trees, her cape moving gracefully as she walked; she stopped at a small clearing and looked up at the sky. Her armored hand came up to rest over her heart; her heart was pounding furiously beneath the flawless armor. She closed her eyes as all of her collected images of the Ronin of Wildfire played in a loop in her mind, just as they had been for over a year.

_What is this that I feel; am I...am I in love with a mortal?_Ivy looked up at the night sky and closed her eyes as the gentle breeze wove its way through her long, river of obsidian; thoughts of the Ronin haunted her dreams, her waking moments, her meditation. Ivy fisted her armored hand over her heart and opened her eyes again as she tried to force the thoughts, and burning feelings, from her mind; she couldn't deal with this now, she had a rebellion to lead, a war to win, a tyrant to overthrow.

Ivy walked away with her head held high, like a one-woman-army on the march to their last mission; she stepped through the silvery portal and disappeared. A blood red bird flew away from the tree where it had been watching the demon general; its blood-colored feathers glowed sinisterly in the silver light.

~in a darkened castle room~

The blood red bird came to perch on an armored hand; its four, obsidian-colored eyes glowed as the images of the last few weeks played to the shadowed male. The male radiated a powerful, sinister aura; he gave a low, sadistic laugh when the bird's 'report' was finished.

"So, that little, half-caste mongrel thinks she can conquer me by using a group of children? We'll just have to see about that." (man)

* * *

Shateu: Boom baby!! (cheers) Chapter six and things are gonna get WAY more intense!! What'll happen next; you'll have to read chapter seven to find out!!

Kale: TELL ME I DIDN'T GET MY ASS HANDED TO ME BY THAT HELLBITCH!!!!!

Shateu: You'll have to read chapter seven to find out, Drinky.

Kale: Damn nutcase. (grumbling various curses incoherently)

Shateu: R& R, please!!

*Note: according to Intel I acquired a few years ago, from legit sources, Ryo was originally from a ninja clan, but he never knew because his father left the clan and never told him anything…so, that part of the story is canon; go figure.


	7. Preview of Chapter Seven

**Between Love And Hate**

Preview of Chapter Seven: Rescue The Fallen; Mystery Uncovered!

Kale: Kale here, with the preview of chapter seven of **Between Love And Hate**. (under breath) I need to get paid for this shit…

…insert background music and title screen that reads **Next chapter…**

VO Kale: Lady Twilight/Ivy's been captured…

"…The white armor-clad female was bound to the wall, thick shackles compressing her armor into her battered wrists and ankles; blood smeared over the formerly-pristine armor, white and silver now colored in the deepest crimson and arterial scarlet shades; bruises, cuts, gashes, and massive injuries littered her battered body, most hidden by armor and the tattered, black leather bodysuit; sapphire eyes still burned bright as fangs gritted when the white-hot iron rod was pressed into the exposed skin of her throat, but still she wouldn't scream…even if all of her bones were broken, even if all of her blood was spilt, even if all of her flesh was bruised and burned, she wouldn't give HIM the satisfaction of her screaming in agony.

"Still won't beg for mercy, half-caste mutt?" (man)

Defiantly she spat a large clot of blood from her lips and into the hated man's face, a sneer on her blood-smeared face and growing, black rage in those demonic, 'warrior' eyes. He wiped her blood from his face with the back of his hand and smirked at the 'fallen' demon general; malice and pure sadistic pleasure in those wicked, obsidian-colored eyes as a sinister laugh echoed through the dungeon torture chamber.

"I always wanted the pleasure of breaking you." (man)…"

VO Kale: The Seven Stars show up again, but not looking for a fight…

"…The Ronins and former Warlords glared at the seven demonesses who stood before them, battered and bloody with tattered clothes and blood-smeared weapons; the seven looked weary, furious, and near-broken down. Kyoko stepped towards the males, her bangs glued over her right eye from the deep crimson blood that dyed her snowy mane in hues of ruby and bright scarlet; her visible golden eye still gleamed with the feral, 'warrior' soul that they'd seen in all of the females, minus Mika of the Frost, of the Seven Stars. The half fox/half fire demon stood with her team behind her, protecting the small, lavender-haired, orchid-colored kimono-clad girl who was with them.

"We require your assistance, boys." (Kyoko)

"And why the hell would we help you?!" (Ryo)

"Because little boy, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'; and, as it unfortunately turns out, our enemies are one in the same." (Kyoko)…"

VO Kale: And the Ronins have to deal with the revelations, about Wildfire's history, from chapter six…

"…The Ronins, minus Ryo, former Warlords, minus Kale and Secmet, Mia, and Kayura looked at one another then at the Ronin of Wildfire who stared at his own hands in horror; flames sparked over his fingers and forearms as the faint, black markings began to form along his left arm…the marks of the 'curse seal' that Kyoko of the Flame had told him about. The group looked at Kyoko of the Flame as the half fox/half fire demon crossed her arms over her chest and gave the Ronin of Wildfire a rather disdainful look.

"I told you, boy; you are what you are and if you didn't want to learn the hard way, that wolf should've told you in the first place." (Kyoko)

All eyes turned to Kale, his eyes downcast slightly in silent thought; Ryo looked at Kale, shock and fear etched across his features. The former Warlord of Darkness glared at the group then refocused his venomous glare on the demoness who'd dared to speak of the secrets known only to the demon world.

"It wasn't my place." (Kale)

The other Ronins and Ex-Warlords stared at Ryo, unsure of what to say; confusion, slight fear, uncertainty, and anger (Daius) passed their eyes and faces as they processed the information. Mia backed up so that she was standing behind Kayura, fear clearly on her face…"

VO Kale: And the start of the real battle begins…but if you want to see what happens, you can find it all in chapter seven: 'Rescue the Fallen; Mystery Uncovered!'.

…insert background music and title screen that reads **Rescue The Fallen; Mystery Uncovered!**

Kale: (looks away from the cue cards; yells off-camera) Alright, hellbitch; I said every-damn-thing you wanted me to say; now give me that triple-layer, 'chocolate trinity cake' you promised me!! (storms off the set) SHATEU!!!


End file.
